The U.S. Space Force’ awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion contract to begin development of the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program, a new effort aimed at providing persistent global tracking of airborne threats from space.
The award, announced by the Space Force’s acting portfolio acquisition executive for Space Based Sensing & Targeting (SBST), is expected to support deployment of an initial satellite constellation by 2028. The service said the capability will provide the Joint Force with an early operational capability designed to close airborne surveillance gaps and improve awareness of contested airspace.
The SB-AMTI program is intended to complement existing airborne sensing capabilities through a layered, resilient architecture that combines space-based sensors, communications links, and ground-processing capabilities to track airborne targets worldwide.
“By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” said U.S. Space Force Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for SBST. “We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program’s rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements.”
The Space Force is using a hybrid acquisition model that combines an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement with an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) vehicle. Officials said the approach is intended to accelerate deployment timelines while drawing on mature commercial technologies. The SB-AMTI vendor pool is comprised of companies, including SpaceX, that were selected through previously awarded competitive OTA agreements.
Officials said the acquisition strategy is intended to promote competition while drawing on technologies from across the U.S. industrial base.
“By utilizing this multi-vendor framework, we are capitalizing on established industry capacity and continuously evaluating and onboarding the best tech to field this essential capability at speed and scale,” Frazier said. “We will not leverage any one single provider; 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, ensuring the Joint Force has access to a strong, competitive industrial base well into the future.”
Frazier said the Space Force plans to expand the program through additional awards over the next year.