On Friday, May 29, 2026, the press service of the United States Space Force (USSF) announced that the Acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Space-Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST) had awarded a 4.16 billion USD contract to SpaceX under the program to build the SB-AMTI (Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator) satellite-based airborne target detection system.
Illustrative image: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
The sole-source, fixed-price OTA agreement for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) is intended to accelerate the development of a satellite constellation designed to track and target airborne threats worldwide. The construction of such a constellation was announced on June 11, 2025, by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, in the context of the possible cancellation of the purchase of E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft (ultimately, Congress forced its continuation ‒ editor’s note).
As stated in the justification, the established method of tracking moving targets using military airborne platforms faces ongoing challenges as adversaries develop increasingly advanced air defense systems, known as anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) bubbles. To complement traditional airborne detection systems, there is a clear need for a layered, highly resilient tracking architecture. SB-AMTI is intended to strengthen the capabilities of the Space Force by creating a persistent, global capability to detect and track airborne targets from space.
„By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” said USSF 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.”
Designed as a complex system of systems, the SB-AMTI architecture will integrate advanced space-based sensors placed on a satellite constellation, secure and high-speed communication links, and encrypted ground processing.
Interestingly, it was emphasized that SpaceX will not be the program’s sole contractor.
„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,” ‒ added colonel Ryan Frazier.
The tender was announced by Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink during Space Symposium 2026 in Colorado Springs, United States, on April 13–16. It is the first of the planned agreements under the program, which is expected to enable the satellite constellation to be built as early as 2028, referring to initial operational capability, editor’s note.
Back in 2024, the USSF command stated that the construction of the SB-AMTI satellite-based airborne target detection system would likely become a reality in the early 2030s. Work is also underway on the potential development of a satellite-based Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) system.
Meanwhile, it appears that testing of a prototype satellite-based AMTI detection solution has already been underway for a year, according to information provided on May 14, 2025, by Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), with SpaceX reportedly already involved.
According to President Donald Trump’s request for the defense budget under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (NDAA FY2027), the USSF wants 7 billion USD allocated for further work related to the program. It cannot be ruled out that it will be part of the next-generation multilayered missile defense system SHIELD, Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense, better known as Golden Dome for America, whose architectural assumptions continue to evolve.
It is possible that certain capabilities in this area, AMTI and GMTI, although highly classified, are being developed independently by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Big news for national security! #SpaceForce will work w/SpaceX to fast-track the SB-AMTI program. Shifting airborne moving target indication into space, USSF will provide resilient capability to sense/track airborne threats globally over contested airspace.https://t.co/sytc6fqajw pic.twitter.com/J1D65Ku3rh
— Space Systems Command (@USSF_SSC) May 29, 2026