Space Force is actively considering whether its future missile warning and tracking satellites should be stationed in a wider range of orbits than in the past to improve the network’s accuracy and resiliency, an SMC official says.
By Theresa HitchensB-21, hypersonics and more: How digital development is driving industry innovation
Technological advancements are key to keeping pace with customer demands and evolving threat landscapes.
Loft’s two satellites are carrying payloads for a Space Development Agency demo, the UAE Space Agency and European commercial satcom firm Eutelsat, among others.
By Theresa Hitchens
Two of the experiments, each involving two satellites, are focused on laser links: one between satellites themselves; the other from satellites to a MQ-9 Reaper drone on the ground.
By Theresa Hitchens The new SBIRS satellite, called SBIRS GEO 5, will be “the most advanced missile warning satellite” on orbit, said Lt. Col. Ryan Laughton, SMC’s program manager.
By Theresa Hitchens
“The Army needs information when and where they want it,” said Rob Zitz, a former Army intel official. “The IC should not get a vote on what Army needs or how Army executes combat missions.”
By Theresa Hitchens and Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. The Transport Layer will form a ‘mesh network’ of communications/data relay satellites, linking all DoD command and control networks, to enable JADC2.
By Theresa Hitchens
Military operators will be able (at least virtually) to ill be able to (at least virtually) “sit side-by-side, elbow-to-elbow with the SDA test team” as the various satellite “layers” are put through their paces.
By Theresa Hitchens
Modernizing military simulation with open systems architecture
Best-of-breed common models and architecture enable virtual training and testing with the same data in a cyber-resilient posture.
“Getting a laser beam on a spacecraft to point to a laser receiver on another spacecraft accurately enough with the right power levels, the right waveforms, etc.,– it’s not an easy thing,” said General Atomics VP Nick Bucci.
By Theresa Hitchens
The next group of satellites, “Tranche 1 is going to be a big deal,” says SDA Director Derek Tournear, ensuring troops have “persistent regional access” to comms and missile warning/tracking data.
By Theresa Hitchens
“We’re not going to be able to defend every acre of North America,” Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says bluntly.
By Theresa Hitchens
“Information gathered up to and through Tracking Layer Tranche 0 will help inform decisions about future tranches, including how many and which types of sensors should be flown to provide the warfighter a complete advanced missile threat solution,” SDA spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea says.
By Theresa Hitchens
The Army and Air Force are still “defining the relationship” between TITAN and the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), an Army spokesperson says.
By Theresa Hitchens
