US Space Agency (SDA) signed contracts with L3Harris Technologies and Sierra Space for construction 36 satellites to expand the global missile tracking network.
The total value of the signed agreements is approx $1,75 billion. These devices will be part of the large-scale defense initiative "Golden Dome" (Golden Dome for America), aimed at protecting the US territory from modern missile threats.
The program was named AMDT3 (Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3) and involves the production of two different types of satellites:
L3Harris Technologies (contract for $955 million): will build 18 anti-missile defense satellites. They are equipped with infrared sensors with a medium field of view (HBTSS-like) for issuing high-precision targeting to interceptors.
Sierra Space (contract for $798 million): will produce 18 launch warning and tracking satellites. The devices will be built on the basis of the Horizon satellite platform.
Target destination: Satellites do not carry kinetic or laser weapons on board. Their function is to detect launches in the acceleration phase, continuous tracking of ballistic and complex hypersonic targets at speeds above Mach 5, as well as instant transmission of coordinates to ground air defense systems.
Orbital placement: All of them 36 devices will be distributed equally between four low-Earth orbital planes.
Timing and compatibility: The delivery of satellites for the launch is scheduled for the end 2028 year. They are fully integrated with satellites of previous generations (Tranche 1 та Tranche 2) and will work through a common ground control system.
After launching into orbit, full control of the group and its technical support will be assumed by the US Space Force.
Source: https://spacenews.com