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Space-based assets will, at least in part, replace the role served by the Boeong E-3.
LONDON—The U.S. Space Force expects to see an initial capability of space-based Airborne Moving Target Indication (AMTI) in the next two years—though that will likely be more regional than the service's top leader had hoped.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, speaking with reporters July 15 at the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference here, said technology has already shown promising results from initial launched demonstrations. The Space Force awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion contract in April to stand up the initial constellation by 2028.
The capability by 2028 will largely depend on how funding plays out, Saltzman says. “I think we’ve got most of the technical problem solved, which in my experience is what slowed us down in delivering capabilities,” he says. “Now, it’s more about resourcing [and] how that’s phased in over the next three or four years.”
Space Systems Command will award launches for the effort, along with the space data network, by the end of the year. The demonstrable capability will be regional but will be expanded as funding comes along. Space-based AMTI is a way to meet the mission, currently served by the aging Boeing E-3 AWACS, in a more global and survivable way.
The U.S. Air Force also is fielding the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail for the AMTI role, with the Pentagon now planning to go ahead with an additional $1.5 billion for the program after threatening to cancel it.
“Whether or not there’s still a use for an E-7 is almost a different discussion,” Saltzman says. “Is there still a regional use for an airborne platform for the mission? Potentially, as we continue to flesh that out. Maybe there’s a discussion that these are reasonable trades to be made.”
On the space-based capability, Saltzman adds, “We have to see the fidelity; we have to see the global coverage. We have to see how all this plays out before I would make any decisions about other platforms.”
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