The US launched 122 defense payloads in 2024, surging 184% YoY, according to data compiled by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. The National Reconnaissance Office’s deployment of 106 SpaceX and Northrop-built Starshield remote sensing recon satellites drove the upswing.
China slows down: In recent years, China has either led or been neck and neck with the US in defense payloads deployed department, which includes comms satellites for military use, EO birds for recon, or other tech like space situational awareness spacecraft or spaceplanes. However, China’s defense payloads have started to plateau, allowing the US to pull far ahead this year.
- Around half of China’s defense payloads are Yaogan recon satellites, which include optical, electronic intelligence (ELINT), and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing tech.
- China debuted its new Yaogan-43 test satellites this year.
Russia and Europe: Russia and Europe continue to see a decline in the volume of defense payload deployments. Last year, Europe launched only one defense payload. I repeat, Europe launched only one defense payload last year.
Other: Defense payloads launched in 2024 by the rest of the world:
- Iran: 6
- Japan: 3
- South Korea: 2
- Australia: 1
US Surges Ahead
The US has been backing up all its soapbox talk of space being a key national security domain. The DoD invested heavily in space-based capabilities through the Space Force, Space Development Agency (with a $4B+ annual budget), and the NRO; the deployment of those assets is now ramping up.
SDA led in 2023: In 2023, the SDA began deploying its Tranche 0 satellites for its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), comprising a large chunk of US defense payloads launched that year. Tranche 1 was initially scheduled to begin launching last year but has been delayed until 2025.
NRO led in 2024: The NRO launched eight missions in 2024.
- Six missions were launched aboard Falcon 9, deploying 100+ Starshield satellites under a $1.8B NRO recon constellation contract.
- One mission utilized Delta Heavy, likely deploying an Orion spy sat.
- One mission used Electron, likely deploying a tech demo sat.
Will the SDA lead 2025? The SDA plans to begin deploying its 150+ Tranche 1 satellites in March or April. The agency will look to deploy the satellites in rapid succession, targeting one mission launch per month.
