The competitively awarded contract covers the Tracking Layer of Tranche 3 (TRKT3), a key element of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a low-Earth orbit satellite network designed to provide resilient missile defence and military communications.
Under the program, Northrop Grumman will deliver 18 satellites fitted with infrared sensors capable of detecting and tracking advanced ballistic and hypersonic weapons from the earliest moments of launch through to potential interception.
The satellites are intended to provide high-accuracy fire control data and rapidly deliver information to military decision makers when integrated with the PWSA Transport Layer’s mesh communications network.
The TRKT3 mission builds on earlier Tracking Layer deployments in Tranche 1 and Tranche 2, adding targeted technology upgrades, wider coverage and deeper integration across the constellation.
The system is designed to address the growing challenge posed by hypersonic missiles which manoeuvre in-flight and demand low-latency, infrared-based tracking to counter effectively.
Northrop Grumman will draw on more than 30,000 square feet of dedicated PWSA manufacturing space to produce the satellites at speed and scale.
Brandon White, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and general manager of its space-enabled multi-domain operations division, said the company’s experience in missile warning systems positioned it well to deliver the program.
“Northrop Grumman’s contributions across both high and low-altitude layers of the missile warning and tracking architecture help protect the nation against a wide range of threats,” White said.
The PWSA is the SDA’s flagship effort to build a globally distributed, mesh-networked missile defence and communications system in low-Earth orbit. Its Tracking Layer works in close coordination with the Transport Layer, which provides high-speed data links to support US forces operating worldwide.
White added, “With our long history of delivering operational Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites, we are well placed to rapidly deliver the Tranche 3 tracking satellites to the SDA.”
Northrop Grumman is supplying both spacecraft and ground systems across the tracking and transport layers of the constellation. In total, the company is on track to deliver around 150 satellites across tranches 1, 2 and 3. The first plane of Northrop Grumman’s Transport Layer satellites under Tranche 1 is scheduled for launch in early 2026.