Resilient MW/MT - MEO

Abstract

The United States Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) and Space Development Agency (SDA) are collaborating to deliver Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) capabilities, in concert with Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) partners, to support a proliferated space architecture that is resilient by design and capable of operating through contested environments. Resilient Missile Warning/Missile Tracking (MW/MT) - Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) space and ground efforts pivot the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) legacy missile warning force design to a more resilient multi-orbit approach to counter advanced missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles, and fractional orbital bombardment threats. MW/MT - MEO is anchored in Missile Warning and Missile Defense Capability Development Document (CDD) requirements validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC). Constellation resiliency is foundational to the DAF Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking force design, therefore, the OPIR Family of Systems, including MW/MT - MEO, is designed to work cohesively to gain and maintain custody of a spectrum of missile threats. The MEO program will deploy space assets in multiple epochs to allow for incremental capability delivery and to ensure competition throughout the lifecycle of the program. Resilient MW/MT - MEO will bolster legacy Space Based Infrared Satellite (SBIRS) and Next-Gen OPIR capabilities and will independently satisfy all mission area CDD requirements for both missile warning and tracking by as early as FY 2031. FY 2025 funding supports final build, test, and delivery of flight payloads and buses to support Epoch 1 as well as the start of satellite level assembly integration and test. FY 2025 funding includes ground activities previously captured in PE 1206448, Project 657124, that continue ground segment mission data processing application development and integration, command and control software and facilities build and integration into the MEO Space Operations Center (MSOC), and ground entry point site construction to support on-orbit initialization in 4th quarter FY 2026. Using a Combined Program Office (CPO) construct, SSC, SDA, and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are teaming to develop and implement a system-of-systems integration strategy across for Missile Warning, Missile Tracking and Missile Defense constellations supporting low earth orbit, medium earth orbit, geosynchronous orbit and polar orbit regimes. Resilient MW/MT - MEO Epoch 1 is comprised of multiple space and ground lines of effort to include the following space and ground items: - Space vehicle development efforts are currently underway with two vendors [Raytheon (RTX) and Millennium Space Systems (MSS)] with contract options currently in place to deliver nine space vehicles; six from MSS and three from RTX. - Delivery of nine total space vehicles [three RTX and six MSS] includes: design, build, hardware integration, testing, delivery, launch vehicle integration, space vehicle launch & early orbit operations, calibration, tuning, flying, and delivery of formatted two-dimensional tracks into the Real-Time Transfer Service (RTS) for incorporation with other sensors data necessary for warning/tracking requirements and operations. - FY 2023 congressional add allowed for contract award for a third vendor [L3 Harris] previously identified in the original Epoch 1 source selection. The contract is specifically to develop an advanced mission payload that will inform future capability decisions. - Mission data processing and unique ground software contract let on December 2022 - Perform the operations and integration of the space vehicles into the operations center for command and control at the Tools, Applications, and Processing (TAP) lab starting in 2nd quarter FY 2025. - Develop integration command and control and mission data processing software to operate constellation of MEO space vehicles for supporting multiple collection layers. - Additional ground applications for ground resource management and sensor tasking will be included as part of the Operations and Integration contract. - Acquire, build, install, test, and operate ground-based antennas for uplink/downlink of commands and mission data. At least two sites and six apertures are required for Epoch 1, and at least two additional sites and six more apertures are needed for Epoch 2. On contract for first three sites as of December 2022. - Test, assess, and validate sensor performance on the ground and on-orbit to ensure track data is integrated by Program of Record (PoR) data and fusion operational programs such as Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) (PE 1206440SF), Ballistic Missile Defense OPIR Architecture, other classified partners and missions, research and development multi-intelligence fusion (PE 1206442SF), and intelligence characterization. SV testing is on contract as of December 2022. Fusion software studies underway with FORGE program as of March 2023. Additional studies planned with Ballistic Missile Defense OPIR Architecture to start in FY 2024. - Mature integrated digital model: support SSC role as the mission area integrator, perform resiliency analyses, baseline future requirements, and assess performance against current and new targets. On contract as of May 2021. Will start Epoch 2 in FY 2025. The program will acquire additional planes of capability for 6-12 Satellites in the first phase of Epoch 2. Will acquire from a prime both SVs as well as ground contractor command and control (C2) and mission data processing (MDP) software. The program will continue to leverage the FORGE framework and TAP Lab for both operations and underlying hardware and software framework services. Will continue the tasking and fusion architecture that began in Epoch 1 for Epoch 2 acquisitions. Furthermore, Epoch 2 will also leverage an ops and integration contractor to assist with on boarding space craft and vendor operations into the TAP Lab. Epoch 2 will expand upon the Ground Entry Points (GEP) to procure additional antennas necessary to support SV planes. Finally, Epoch 2 will also continue the use of model-based systems engineering and digital models to ease integration. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver MW/MT capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206398SF. This program is in Budget Activity 5, System Development and Demonstration (SDD) because it has passed Milestone B approval and is conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full rate production.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2025
• Source ID: 657MEO_1206447SF_5_3620F_PB_2025

Tags

Readers

• Aerospace Engineering.

Technology Areas

• Fully Networked C3
• Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
• Hypersonics
• Space
• Space - Satellites