L3Harris Gears Up for Production of 16 Hypersonic Missile-Tracking Satellites After Space Development Agency Approval

Defense News , U.S :- Defense contractor L3Harris has recently received the green light from the Space Development Agency (SDA) to advance into the production phase for 16 satellites designed to detect and monitor hypersonic missiles aimed at the United States and its allies. The approval follows the successful completion of critical design and production readiness reviews for L3Harris satellite technology.

The SDA, a key entity within the U.S. Space Force, is actively constructing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a layered network of satellites. This architecture includes a Transport Layer comprising interconnected communication satellites that will transmit data collected by the Tracking Layer, which consists of sensor satellites.

In 2022, L3Harris secured a substantial $700 million contract to design and manufacture 16 Tracking Layer Tranche 1 satellites. Additionally, the contract involves providing ground systems and support services. The satellite bus supplier for this ambitious project is Maxar Technologies, as selected by L3Harris.

Highlighting the significance of this initiative, Bob De Cort, Director of Program Management at L3Harris, emphasized, “Hypersonic missiles are the most destabilizing kinetic weapons in our adversaries arsenals due to their dim flight profiles, varied launch points, and high maneuverability. To deter their use and, when needed, to defeat them, the United States requires a resilient sensor platform to remove the veil from their flight paths.”

L3Harris satellite production facilities in Melbourne, Florida, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, are actively contributing to the project. The company has already delivered four prototype tracking satellites under a previous $193 million contract for Tranche 0, though they have faced some delays in launching this year.

The Tracking Layer Tranche 1 satellites are currently slated for launch in 2025. Its worth noting that Northrop Grumman and Raytheon RTX are also engaged in the production of Tracking Layer Tranche 1 satellites under separate contracts.

This initiative to deploy reliable hypersonic detection capabilities comes at a crucial time, as nations like China, Russia, and others are advancing their development of maneuverable high-speed weapons designed to evade conventional defensive systems.