The US Space Force awarded a contract for 259 million dollars with SciTec, specializing in software and based in New Jersey, for the further development of the ground segment of the military space missile attack warning system, this was reported by the Space Systems Command 6 May. This contract is part of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution program (FORGE), the purpose of which is to create a state ground-based system of command and control of missile attack warning satellites. SciTec will create an integrated enterprise with FORGE systems and other systems, reports the Space Systems Command.
FORGE is being developed as a ground system, owned by the government and providing command of management capabilities as existing, and satellites of the next generation, responsible for early detection of missile launches. SciTec company, which is headquartered in Princeton, state of New Jersey, manages the software application development center in Boulder, State of Colorado, where much of the specialized missile detection software is developed.
Apart from this latest contract, the company has received other FORGE orders in recent years. IN 2022 year SciTec won the contract for 272 millions of dollars in data processing software development, supporting both legacy space infrared systems (SBIRS), as well as systems of above-ground permanent infrared radiation of the next generation (Next-Gen OPIR).
Additional contracts include 45,8 million dollars in 2023 year on outdated data processing programs of SBIRS sensors and 5 million dollars in 2021 year for SBIRS data processing software prototypes. The FORGE system is designed to support satellites in multiple orbits, which provide continuous monitoring of missile launches and other potential threats.
The FORGE initiative is part of a larger modernization plan, which includes investments in terrestrial relay stations in the United States and Great Britain for the Next-Gen OPIR satellite network, which is still under development. In a related event, defense contractor Northrop Grumman 5 in May announced the receipt of a contract for new relay stations, which will be located in the United States and Great Britain. This happens after the contract 2023 year for the creation of a ground terminal of a relay ground station in Asia (RGS-A) in Guam, which is currently under construction.
RGS-A will serve as a communications relay between the various satellite networks, that detect missile launches, allowing US Navy ballistic missile ships to receive early warning from infrared sensor satellites.
Source: https://spacenews.com/space-force-awards-contracts-for-missile-warning-ground-systems/