The Pentagon plans to use low-orbit spacecraft equipped with sensors with a wide field of view. The new defense architecture is planned to be completed by 2027.
In the United States, they are working on creating a new air defense architecture using low-orbit satellites that will allow tracking, including hypersonic missiles. Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture plans to deploy hundreds of spacecraft equipped with wide field of view sensors, and the first batch of Tranche 0 satellites will be launched at the end of March 2023, Defense News reported on March 2.
Now, to track moving targets, the US Armed Forces use reconnaissance aircraft and UAVs. However, due to the development of air defense systems, the use of the old tracking equipment is becoming more difficult. Therefore, they will be replaced by low-orbit satellites, which will be in a 1930-meter orbit above the surface of the planet.
“Developing a sustainable and affordable constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit will improve our ability to track emerging threats such as hypersonic missiles,” said Dave Broadbent, president of Raytheon Intelligence and Space’s space and command and control systems division.
The US Space Development Agency has already awarded Raytheon a $250 million contract to build seven missile tracking satellites. However, another $3.2 billion is needed to implement the entire project.
Development will be conducted by Raytheon and its subsidiary SEAKR Engineering, which specializes in space electronics, in Colorado. And for research within the framework of the project, artificial intelligence is expected to be involved in order to simulate the situation and train the military.
Thus, missile tracking spacecraft will be a key component of Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s space architecture, which is scheduled to be completed by 2027.
Recall that there have been repeated statements in the Russian Federation that American satellites can become “legitimate targets” for Russian air defense systems. According to Russian diplomat Konstantin Vorontsov, Russia may attack US civilian space objects that are used for military purposes.
