BAE Space & Mission Systems, the first of two planned Epoch 2 suppliers, supported the completed review. Selection of a second supplier is continuing, with a contract award planned for early fiscal 2027.
Epoch 2 is the next phase of Space Systems Command’s Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking programme. It will expand global coverage and improve the military’s ability to detect, track and assess advanced missile threats.
The 10 new spacecraft will be divided between two orbital planes. They will build on Epoch 1, which comprises 12 satellites distributed across the programme’s first two medium Earth orbit planes.
Together, the two phases are intended to create a more resilient global missile-tracking architecture. Epoch 2 will also provide additional battlespace awareness and technical intelligence to U.S. forces and allies.
“To outpace today’s advanced threats, we are balancing speed with technical rigor to deliver global missile tracking capability to the warfighter,” said Lt. Col. Brandon Castillo, the Epoch 2 system programme manager. The project is using a middle-tier acquisition framework intended to support faster delivery.
The review was completed five months after the preliminary design review and 14 months after the initial contract award in 2025. Space Systems Command said digital engineering tools and established technologies helped maintain that schedule.
“The combined government and industry team has been in lockstep since PDR to mature this system design,” said Heather Tackett, the Epoch 2 deputy system programme manager. “The use of advanced digital engineering tools enabled our team to communicate dynamically, identify and resolve misalignments early, and track enterprise-level mission capability.”
Assembly, integration and testing of the spacecraft are scheduled to begin in 2027. The programme aims to field the constellation more quickly than traditional acquisition methods.
“As our adversaries rapidly develop highly maneuverable hypersonic missiles, a resilient MEO architecture is essential,” Castillo said. “We are building a new missile tracking capability with global access to help ensure joint warfighters have actionable, real-time data needed to detect, track, and counter advanced threats.”
