Ten new surveillance satellites will expand US space capabilities for early detection of hypersonic threats from China, Russia and other potential adversaries.
Bae Systems has received a contract on 1,2 billion dollars from the US Space Force for the supply of ten missile tracking satellites for the medium-Earth orbit group. Among their functions will be providing information for the security initiative “Golden Dome”. This project was named Resilient Missile Warning Tracking Epoch 2 and became the second stage of the US Space Force's program to develop a missile tracking network in medium Earth orbit. One of the key directions of this group's work is hypersonic weapons, which is now causing serious concern to American planners.
The missile warning system satellites themselves are designed to track a number of threats: from maneuvering hypersonic missiles to intercontinental ballistic missile launches. In general, they are integrated into the broader US national missile defense system. Regarding the location, then the average Earth orbit is at a height of 2 000 to 35 786 kilometers above the Earth and provides wider coverage than low-orbit systems.
If compared with geostationary orbits, then better resolution is obtained with less signal delay. Such advantages will allow obtaining better data on possible threats and tracking more complex targets, such as hypersonic missiles. In general, satellite tracking systems are one of the important parts of strategic missile defense, allowing detection of threat launches, calculate their trajectory and transmit relevant information to interceptors. The addition of hypersonic weapons to the list of possible targets can be taken as a response to the appearance of such missiles in Russia, China, North Korea and other countries of the world.
The first deliveries of satellites of the Epoch group 2 are expected in 2029 year. Elements of the previous stage of the project, Epoch 1, which is designed for 12 satellites, it is planned to be launched into orbit in 2026-2027 years. In general, the entire program should be included in the project of US President Donald Trump “Golden Dome”, which we have already talked about in more detail.