The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (USASMDC-TC) has reached a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with CACI International.
The five-year pact targets further development of advanced payload technologies, space sensor applications, and Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT).
“These payloads feature mission-proven, ground-based technologies that are tailored for the unique challenges of the contested space domain,” CACI President of National Security and Innovative Solutions Todd Probert said. “They enable increased resiliency and security through low size, weight, and power (SWaP) software-defined applications. We look forward to working closely with the Army on this critical program to bolster our nation’s dominance in space.”
CACI previously detailed a 2023 satellite launch to test a multi-mission small satellite payload, outlining the deployment of a payload involving two software-defined technology applications enabling PNT and tactical signals intelligence (TacISR) capabilities while in low earth orbit (LEO).
The CRADA scope also includes technologies for laser communications, laser sensing, artificial intelligence, and secure communication technologies. The PNT payload application enables precision positioning and navigation while demonstrating GPS-independent earth-space time synchronization exceeding current performance by 100 times.
The tactical ISR payload application would demonstrate the ability to collect, geolocate, demodulate, and decode digital mobile radio signals.