Pentagon Launches Hundreds of New Satellites to Stop Enemy Hypersonic Missiles

Video Above: Air War in 2050 – Air Force Research Lab Commander on Hypersonics 

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Enemy ICBMs stream through space along with decoys, debris and countermeasures, hypersonic missiles travel so quickly along the boundary of the earth’s atmosphere that it is nearly impossible to develop a continuous “track” as they transit from one radar aperture to another and ground missile launches could happen in rapid succession creating a “salvo” effect in an overwhelming attack.

Missile Defense – Satellites

Missile defense technology has made staggering steps forward in recent years, and is now poised for additional breakthroughs, yet an even newer paradigm is needed to counter an emerging new generation of threat such as hypersonic weapons, high-speed multiple re-entry vehicles and advanced countermeasures flying alongside ICBMs.

Recognizing this, the Pentagon is moving quickly to launch new constellations of high-tech, networked satellites for the specific purpose of establishing that “continuous” track and strengthening the layers of missile defense using paradigm-changing space technology.

Accomplishing this requires non-line-of-sight targeting and connectivity, high-speed data sharing, AI-enabled information processing and transmission and, perhaps most of all, the addition of new constellations of Low and Medium Earth Orbit Satellites to complement traditional Geosynchronous higher altitude satellites. Essentially, hundreds of new satellites need to go up to help “blanket” otherwise unreachable target areas and exchange threat track data quickly enough and accurately enough to ensure a targeting “trajectory” is not lost as a high-speed weapon transits from one field of regard to another.

This is why the Space Development Agency is accelerating its plan to launch 28 new satellites by 2025 through its $1.3 billion Tranche 1 Tracking Layer missile warning program. Space Development Agency Directory Derek Tournear explained last year that the multi-pronged launch initiative, which will break up 28 satellites into four different launches with seven satellites on each, is grounded upon two key conceptual pillars. These are “proliferation” and “spiral development,” Tournear told reporters at the Pentagon, specifying that there is literally a need for hundreds and hundreds of satellites to operate in space while continuously gaining new capability every “two years” through ongoing spiraled development.