BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems will build 10 missile warning satellites for Space Force’s Epoch 2 constellation, with a focus on using infrared sensors to track threats, including ICBMs and hypersonic vehicles.
BAE declined to comment on the fixed-price contract, which sets a delivery date after September 2028.
Stay resilient: This is the latest award in the Space Force’s $6B Resilient Missile Warning Tracking (MWT) network in MEO, developed by a combined team including MDA and SDA. The three organizations are emphasizing rapid contracting and production of the spacecraft.
MWT is designed to arrive in “Epochs” every two years. The Epoch 1 tranche of 12 satellites is being built by Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems for delivery in 2027. (RTX was originally set to build half of those, but lost its contract after cost and schedule problems.)
Threat opportunity: China and Russia fielding hypersonic weapons spurred the development of a suite of new orbital sensors that can spot the fast vehicles, whose lower flight profiles makes them difficult to spot with terrestrial radar. The major challenge is developing satellite sensors able to spot targets that are lower and smaller than ICBMs.
The MWT is intended to complement other SDA and MDA satellite sensor programs with missile warning coverage at lower latitudes.
Life in the Dome Zone: Even though this program kicked off in 2022, it’s a Golden Dome project now, as the amorphous program concept absorbs the existing missile defense architecture. This week, DoD cancelled an industry day for potential Golden Dome contractors planned for June 11, leaving plenty of unanswered questions about the program.
