Pentagon awards contracts for next 'swarm' of tiny missile defense satellites

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The Pentagon announced Monday it has awarded $1.5 billion to contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin for a "swarm" of 72 tiny prototype satellites meant to detect incoming enemy missiles.

The Space Development Agency said each company will build and operate 36 of the satellites, with approximately $816 million going to Lockheed Martin and $733 million to Northrop Grumman for the project.

The small satellites, each about one-eighth the size of current satellites, constitute the "Tranche 2 Transport Layer" of the U.S. Space Force's planned Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, which when fully deployed will include nearly 1,000 craft in low orbit around the Earth.

The first 28 satellites, called Tranche 0, are scheduled to be launched this year. The first 10 members of the fleet were deployed into low Earth orbit on April 2.

Tranche 1, made up of more than 160 satellites, will follow in late 2024, while Tranche 2's swarm of 72 satellites is scheduled for a 2026 delivery, according to SDA Director Derek Tournear.

"Tranche 2 brings global persistence for all our capabilities in Tranche 1 and adds advanced tactical data links and future proliferated missions," he said in a statement, adding that the newest models include "advanced tactical communication technology."

The Pentagon says the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture is meant to overcome the problems of relying on just a handful of big missile defense satellites placed in geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth, currently tasked with tracking ballistic and hypersonic missiles, especially those coming from China, Russia, and North Korea.

Diminutive satellites designed to operate together are cheaper and can be developed much more quickly, and because they are in low orbit at about 600 miles, are better at detecting a new types of hypersonic missiles which fly closer to the ground than traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles, military officials say.

Their small size and "proliferated" nature also make them a much less inviting target than a single, large-scale satellite, according to the Pentagon.