SpaceX has secured a $4.16 billion U.S. Space Force contract to develop a satellite network capable of continuously detecting and tracking airborne threats.
The program, known as the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator, or SB-AMTI, is designed as an interconnected system combining space-based sensors, secure communications links, and ground processing.
The U.S. Space Force awarded the deal through an Other Transaction Authority agreement, a procurement mechanism often used for cutting-edge defense technology development.
Defense contractors Rocket Lab and Lockheed Martin are among the partners collaborating with SpaceX on the initiative, according to government documents.
SpaceX is the first of nine companies that the Space Force has disclosed for the SB-AMTI vendor pool, with the remaining eight identities withheld for national security reasons.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced the additional selected companies during the Space Symposium in April 2026, but their identities and pricing were not made public.
The SB-AMTI constellation is expected to be fielded by 2028 and will play a central role in the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The Golden Dome program aims to expand ground-based interceptors, sensors, and command systems while adding space-based satellites to detect, track, and potentially counter airborne threats.
“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,” said Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for space based sensing and targeting.
The Space Force’s fiscal 2026 baseline budget contains no funds for air moving target indication, but reconciliation funding tied to the Golden Dome initiative includes $9.2 billion earmarked for target tracking.
The Department of the Air Force’s fiscal year 2027 budget request includes $7.06 billion for the SB-AMTI program to expand radar coverage regionally and potentially globally.
Earlier, the Space Force also awarded SpaceX a separate $2.29 billion contract to build a secure, high-speed satellite communications network connecting military sensors and weapons platforms across the globe.
Traditionally, airborne moving target indication missions have been handled by Air Force AWACS aircraft, but SB-AMTI is being developed as a replacement option for the E-7 Wedgetail platform.
The program represents another significant military mission transitioning from the air domain into the space domain, reflecting the Pentagon’s broader strategic realignment.
