The U.S. Space Force has awarded three initial firm-fixed-price other transaction authority (OTA) agreements worth a combined $615 million to advance the next phase of its effort to develop satellites capable of tracking moving aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles from orbit.
The awards, announced under the Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, represent the second task order for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program. The effort aims to mature emerging technologies, expand the industrial base, and develop multiple sensing capabilities to support future operational needs for the joint force.
The latest agreements build on a $4.16 billion OTA award announced in May to SpaceX to develop an initial SB-AMTI satellite constellation. That contract is intended to enable the Space Force to field an operational airborne moving target indicator constellation by 2028.
According to the Space Force, the second task order has two primary objectives: broadening the program’s vendor base and advancing multiple sensing technologies rather than relying on a single technical approach.
Rocket Lab, STR LLC, and a third company whose identity was withheld for operational security reasons received the awards.
The agreements were competitively awarded through a previously established indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity pool of SB-AMTI industry partners. The acquisition strategy is intended to accelerate fielding of critical capabilities, mature manufacturing solutions, and foster long-term competition as the service expands a resilient SB-AMTI architecture.
“Our mandate is clear: we must move fast and aggressively harness the innovation of the commercial sector,” said Space Force Col. Ryan Frazier, acting portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting.
“The core focus of this second task order is diversifying our capabilities and ensuring we don’t rely on a single technical solution,” Frazier said. “With these new partnerships, we are exploring unique innovations and technologies and fundamentally different ways to accomplish the airborne moving target indication mission. Maturing these varied technical solutions now gives us distinct performance advantages for the future and guarantees we are fielding the absolute best technology available.”
Frazier said the awards also reflect the service’s broader effort to expand participation beyond the companies selected in the program’s initial phase.
“While our initial awards allowed us to rapidly establish a baseline, these new agreements demonstrate our commitment to expanding our partnerships,” he said. “A resilient space architecture demands a robust, competitive industrial base, and tapping into the broader commercial market is how we get there.”
The SB-AMTI program is designed to provide a space-based alternative to the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft while strengthening the military’s airborne moving target indicator capabilities.
The Space Force said expanding its pool of commercial partners is expected to increase competition, reduce supply chain constraints, mitigate industrial risk, and accelerate technology development. Pursuing multiple sensing technologies also is intended to improve the survivability and adaptability of the future architecture by providing different methods of delivering the capability across a range of operational environments.