The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded two agreements totalling about $1.75bn to L3Harris and Sierra Space for the deployment of 36 additional Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) satellites.
Each company will supply 18 satellites, which will be distributed across four orbital planes and integrated into Tranche 3 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s (PWSA) Tracking Layer to strengthen US missile warning and defence sensor capabilities.
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The contract with L3Harris is valued at approximately $955m and involves the delivery of 18 Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS)-like missile defence satellites.
Sierra Space’s contract is valued at $798m for 18 satellites focused on missile warning and tracking.
The AMDT3 awards support Golden Dome for America’s space-based capabilities. All 36 satellites are scheduled to be ready for launch by the end of 2028.
According to the SDA, these awards are part of a broader strategy to construct a hybrid missile defence architecture that supports global stereo coverage and access to both warning and tracking, as well as missile defence functions.
Space Force Missile Warning and Tracking portfolio acquisition executive and SDA director GP Sandhoo said: “With these awards, SDA is accelerating the deployment of the Tracking Layer to provide the homeland, our deployed forces, and allies with global, persistent indications, detection, identification warning, tracking, and defence against advanced and evolving missile threats.”
These latest agreements fall under firm-fixed-price prototype contracts governed by other transaction authority.
Each AMDT3 satellite will be interoperable with units from Tranches 1, 2, and 3, and will connect via a common ground system.
The satellites are intended to operate as part of a global constellation, integrating infrared sensors and a low-latency communication network to deliver real-time data over tactical data links from low-Earth orbit.
L3Harris’s satellites will be equipped with medium-field-of-view payloads to provide fire control-quality data for missile defence.
The company will initiate manufacturing utilising its facilities in Indiana and Florida. This contract builds on the L3Harris Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) on-orbit demonstration for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Across various agency programmes, L3Harris has over 70 missile tracking and defence satellites on order and five already in orbit.
Sierra Space will base its 18 satellites on the Horizon spacecraft, part of the Eclipse Satellite Family.
This is the same satellite platform used for the company’s Tranche 2 Tracking Layer programme, for which all 18 vehicle structures have been built.
The company plans to begin qualification testing this summer and system verification before the end of the year.
