Space Systems Command said the initial award is projected to field a constellation of satellites by 2028. The command said the capability is intended to provide the Joint Force with an early ability to eliminate operational blind spots.
The award follows Space Systems Command’s nearly $2.3 billion contract to SpaceX for the Space Data Network Backbone. That program is planned as a proliferated low Earth orbit communications network.
SpaceX also plans to go public on June 12 on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX. The latest award is therefore the company’s second major Space Force contract in a short period.
Last month, the Space Force said it had awarded small SB-AMTI development contracts to nine companies. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink also said the service would soon make an award for the first operational increment of the program.
SpaceX is among the nine companies selected for the SB-AMTI vendor pool. Space Systems Command has not disclosed the names of the other companies, citing operational security concerns.
The Space Force has been working with the National Reconnaissance Office to develop and fly space-based AMTI prototypes. The effort is intended to determine whether satellites can perform a mission traditionally carried out by ground-based radars and airborne platforms.
The program comes as the Air Force has examined alternatives to traditional airborne sensing. Since the Trump administration entered office last year, the Air Force has tried to cancel the planned purchase of Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne warning and control aircraft in favour of SB-AMTI.
Congress rejected that cancellation. The Air Force now says it is funding seven Wedgetail aircraft at a cost of $4.9 billion, or about $700 million per aircraft, to replace the 1970s-era Boeing E-3 aircraft.
“The long-standing method of military airborne platforms to track moving targets faces continued challenges as adversaries develop increasingly sophisticated anti-access/area-denial systems,” Space Systems Command said.
“To compliment traditional airborne sensing, the requirement for a layered, highly resilient tracking architecture is evident,” the command said.
The Space Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request includes $7 billion to procure Space-Based AMTI satellites. It also includes $1 billion for a separate effort to conduct ground-moving target indication from orbit.
Officials have said the goal is to create a multidomain architecture using air, space and ground sensors. Such an architecture is expected to be more resilient against adversary anti-access and area-denial systems.
“By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the joint force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” Col. Ryan Frazier, the Space Force’s acting portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting, said in a statement.
“We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program’s rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements,” Frazier said.
Space Systems Command said multiple additional awards are expected to support a vendor-diverse expansion of the program. The command said the aim is to enhance capacity and capability for combatant commanders.
“Currently, there are numerous companies in this SB-AMTI vendor pool, including SpaceX; which were selected into this framework through previously awarded competitive OTAs,” the Space Force said.
“This award executes the Space Force’s strategy to deliver capability and ensure competition that actively leverages the best available technology across the entire U.S. industrial base to deliver this critical capability,” the service said.
