Under the agreement, BAE Systems will design and build ten spacecraft, with a four-year delivery timeline for the space vehicles and a further five years dedicated to operations and support. The satellites will provide space-based missile warning and tracking of ballistic missiles and advanced threats, such as hypersonic glide vehicles.
BAE Systems will also develop the ground system responsible for managing the satellite constellation. This includes delivering mission management, command and control, and mission operations solutions to improve operational efficiency.
“This effort builds on our capabilities to facilitate low cost, integrated satellite defence programmes that bring together payload and bus builds, while managing ground support, operations and sustainment,” said Thai Sheridan, vice president and general manager of Military Space for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. “Our system enables close coordination through a ‘one-team’ approach across capabilities that are critical for missile warning and tracking success.”
Each satellite will incorporate a highly capable electro-optical/infrared sensor and communication payload, supported by advanced onboard data processing and data crosslinks. The payload will be integrated with the Trek bus variant of BAE Systems’ Elevation spacecraft product line.
Trek provides increased payload interface flexibility, an enhanced attitude determination and control system, and secure communication capabilities. These features will support the continuous delivery of mission data to integrate with operational missile defence systems.
The contract continues BAE Systems’ support of Department of Defense and Space Force satellite constellations aimed at bolstering national security and enterprise resilience. Earlier this year, the company was also selected to provide a new satellite command and control system for the Space Force’s Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) programme.
