The Space Development Agency has awarded Raytheon Technologies a contract valued at over $250 million to design, develop and deliver missile warning and tracking technology.
“Developing a resilient and affordable proliferated satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit will improve our ability to track emerging threats like hypersonic missiles,” Raytheon Intelligence & Space C2 President Dave Broadbent said. “Continuing to develop this architecture with SDA and our industry partners will be a high priority for us in the coming months.”
The scope of work calls for Raytheon to leverage existing designs, available commercial products, and common components to reduce technical risk and speed delivery. The seven-vehicle satellite constellation will feature the company’s Wide Field of View overhead persistent infrared sensor, Blue Canyon Technologies’ Saturn-class microsatellite bus, and SEAKR Engineering’s electronics payload.
A constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites enables missile warning, missile tracking, and enhanced situational awareness. Once deployed, the low-Earth orbit constellation of networked satellites would represent the fifth plane of satellites providing Department of Defense missile warning and tracking.
Since acquiring Blue Canyon Technologies and SEAKR Engineering, Raytheon has expanded its space payload and satellite bus capabilities and expertise to become a leading provider of space systems to an expanding number of programs.