The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded contracts totaling $1.75 billion to L3Harris Technologies and Sierra Space to develop 36 satellites for missile warning, tracking, and targeting as part of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative. The satellites, designated as “Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) space vehicles (SVs),” are targeted for launch in 2028—aligning with President Trump’s directive to operationalize Golden Dome by that timeframe. In comparison, earlier SDA Tranche 3 Tracking Layer contracts, valued at up to $3.5 billion and awarded in December 2022 to firms including L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Rocket Lab, cover 72 satellites but are scheduled for launch in 2029.
Jeff Schrader, Sierra Space’s chief financial officer, emphasized the strategic alignment of the new contracts with the Golden Dome initiative, stating, “This development is directly supporting a new and critical architecture, with funding finally flowing to accelerate capabilities.”
L3Harris received a contract worth up to $955 million to deliver 18 “Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS)-like missile defense variant SVs across two orbital planes.” Sierra Space was awarded $798 million for an additional 18 satellites tailored for missile warning and tracking missions in the same orbital configuration.
Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, SDA director and Space Force acquisition executive, highlighted the significance of the awards, noting, “These contracts accelerate the deployment of the Tracking Layer to safeguard the homeland, deployed forces, and allies with persistent global capabilities for detecting and countering advanced missile threats.”
The satellites will integrate wide field-of-view infrared sensors to detect missile launches and track their trajectories across vast regions of space. Missile defense variants will feature medium field-of-view cameras, enabling precise data collection for interceptor targeting. Josh Lovejoy, L3Harris’ general manager for missile warning and defense systems, clarified that the three designations—missile warning, tracking, and defense—represent escalating technical demands: initial detection, followed by trajectory analysis, and culminating in high-confidence targeting data meeting “fire control quality” standards.
Both companies are also constructing SDA’s Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites under a $2.5 billion contract from January 2024, with each developing 18 satellites—16 for warning/tracking and two for defense—for launch by April 2027. L3Harris, leveraging its origins in the HBTSS program, has invested internally in sensor upgrades, while Sierra Space has allocated $1.5 billion toward missile defense infrastructure. Schrader noted partnerships with Leidos to advance capabilities using cutting-edge 8K focal plane array technology and software-driven enhancements.
