Raytheon Intelligence & Space has announced that it will design satellites to track missile launches based on a platform created by Lockheed Martin. The grouping ordered by the US military should start operating in medium orbits as early as 2026.
Raytheon chooses Lockheed Martin as partner
One of the key American players in the field of defense space, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, announced on January 4 that it had chosen a platform to create a satellite tracking the launches of ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
It was developed by another defense giant Lockheed Martin medium-sized platform LM400. It was introduced back in 2021. It is mainly intended specifically for the placement of a military payload.
A “critical system design review” is expected to take place as early as 2023, and the satellite should be ready for launch as early as 2026. Work on its creation will be carried out at Raytheon enterprises in California and Lockheed Martin in Colorado.
New Missile Launch Warning System
The US military announced the creation of a new component of space missile defense a few months ago. Obviously, the reason for its creation was the massive use of missiles by Russians against Ukrainian cities.
The USA already has similar satellites operating in geostationary and low Earth orbit. Now the military wants to supplement them with a grouping in medium orbits. To do this, they chose Raytheon and Millennium Space Systems.
Proposals from both companies already passed technical verification last year. Contracts have been signed with them to create a prototype satellite, ground systems and software, but their amount has not been disclosed.
According to spacenews.com
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