IRIA News

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The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion contract to accelerate the development of a new satellite network designed to track aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles around the world.

The contract supports the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program, which aims to provide continuous global monitoring of airborne threats from space. The Space Force said the first constellation of satellites is expected to be operational by 2028.

The award comes just two days after the Space Force’s Space Systems Command awarded SpaceX a separate contract worth nearly $2.3 billion for the Space Data Network Backbone, a low-Earth orbit communications network. The back-to-back deals further strengthen SpaceX’s role in the Pentagon’s expanding military space architecture.

According to the service, the new system is intended to strengthen the military’s ability to detect and track airborne targets in contested environments where traditional aircraft-based surveillance platforms may be vulnerable.

“By focusing these capabilities on the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” said Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for Space Based Sensing & Targeting.

“We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program’s rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements,” he added.

SB-AMTI System

The SB-AMTI system is being developed to complement the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft, which was intended to replace the aging E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

Military officials have argued that surveillance aircraft face increasing risks from advanced anti-access and area-denial capabilities being developed by potential adversaries. As a result, the Pentagon has been exploring space-based alternatives that can provide persistent coverage while reducing vulnerability to enemy attacks.

The new architecture will combine space-based sensors, secure communications links, and ground processing systems to create a global tracking network capable of monitoring airborne threats in real time.

Officials say the system will help eliminate operational blind spots and provide combat commanders with improved battlefield awareness.

Broader Military Space Strategy

The award comes as the Space Force continues expanding the military’s presence in space through new sensing, communications, and missile-tracking systems.

SpaceX was one of nine companies selected in April to compete for SB-AMTI contracts through a new vendor pool established by the Space Force. While SpaceX received the first major award, officials stressed that additional contracts are expected to be issued over the next year.

“We will not leverage any one single provider,” Frazier said. “Instead, we are partnering with a highly diversified pool of traditional and non-traditional vendors, each bringing various capabilities to support the SB-AMTI architecture.”

The Space Force said the multi-vendor approach is designed to maintain competition and allow the government to incorporate the best available technologies as the program develops.

Congressional Approval

The contract follows the Space Force’s request for $7 billion in fiscal year 2027 funding for the SB-AMTI program. However, those funds remain dependent on congressional approval through a reconciliation bill.

Although the service’s fiscal year 2026 baseline budget does not include funding specifically for airborne moving target indication, broader funding proposals linked to the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative include billions of dollars for target-tracking capabilities.

In addition to SB-AMTI, the Space Force is also pursuing a separate effort known as Space-Based Ground Moving Target Indicator (SB-GMTI), which would focus on tracking ground targets from space. That program remains in the research and development phase.

The latest award also follows another major Space Force contract granted to SpaceX earlier in the week for the Space Data Network Backbone, a low-Earth orbit communications network intended to support military operations.

With the SB-AMTI program now moving into development, the Space Force expects the new satellite constellation to provide the U.S. military with an early operational capability by 2028, expanding its ability to track airborne threats globally and improving awareness in increasingly contested environments.