The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) says that it has a limited understanding thus far of how the U.S. Space Force’s future Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) will meet the missile warning requirements of military forces in the field.
In January, the Space Force’s Space Development Agency renamed its proliferated low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation as the PWSA (Defense Daily, Jan. 23).
HASC has “an understanding of the capability the Next Generation Geosynchronous Overhead Persistent Infrared constellation has delivered and continues to deliver for our nation’s security,” according to an en bloc amendment to H.R. 2670 by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), the chairman of the HASC strategic forces panel. “The committee has not received details regarding how the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) contributions for missile warning will meet stated combatant commander resiliency requirements or be integrated into the overall Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment (ITWAA) architecture.”
The SDA has awarded a number of contracts for the PWSA. In February last year, SDA announced nearly $1.8 billion in awards to Lockheed Martin [LMT], Northrop Grumman [NOC], and York Space Systems for 126 prototype satellites for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer–the SDA’s first stab at fielding operational satellites to provide resilient, high volume, minimal lag time communications for military missions (Defense Daily, Feb. 28, 2022). Each contractor is to build 42 satellites to be ready for launch by September next year. Lockheed Martin won $700 million, Northrop Grumman $692 million, and York Space Systems won $382 million.
SpaceX and L3Harris [LHX] are building LEO satellites for the Tranche 0 Tracking Layer to provide missile warning. In addition, L3Harris and Northrop Grumman are to build 14 satellites each for the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer.
Lamborn’s amendment to H.R. 2670 asks Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, in coordination with U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), to brief HASC by March 30 next year on any U.S. missile warning effects posed by PWSA delays, costs of ground infrastructure for PWSA, any PWSA missile warning gaps, and “how the PWSA will be incorporated into the ITWAA architecture to meet STRATCOM requirements.”
The Space Force’s fiscal 2024 budget zeroes research and development funding for one of the three planned geosynchronous orbit (GEO) Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next Gen OPIR) missile warning satellites by Lockheed Martin [LMT], as the Space Force posits that having a band of many, smaller satellites in the lower orbits of LEO and MEO will complicate an adversary’s anti-satellite targeting and improve deterrence against adversary ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks (Defense Daily, March 15).
Last year’s appropriation for the Next Gen OPIR GEO satellites was nearly $1.7 billion, while the fiscal 2024 request comes in around $720 million–a reduction of more than $975 million.