Next-Generation Satellite System Aims to Improve Missile Warning
The U.S. is developing a new space-based system to improve missile warning and tracking for military forces. Next Gen OPIR GEO is intended to build on the existing Space-Based Infrared System, or SBIRS, with updated sensing, data processing and resilience capabilities.
Missile threats have become faster and more maneuverable over the past decade, creating new demands for timely detection and tracking. The program is being developed by Lockheed Martin with the U.S. Space Force and a network of subcontractors and suppliers.
Building on an Existing System
Next Gen OPIR GEO is designed to detect and track increasingly difficult targets, including missiles with faint infrared signatures or flight paths that change in midair. It is intended to operate in geosynchronous orbit, providing persistent coverage to support military awareness and decision-making.
Lockheed Martin’s OPIR portfolio director, Jim Sprunck, said SBIRS has provided dependable early warning for more than a decade. He described the new system as an effort to build on that experience with additional capabilities for future warning and tracking missions.
Hypersonic glide vehicles are among the challenges the system is intended to address. Their speed and ability to maneuver can make them harder to detect and follow. The company says mission testing has shown improvements over SBIRS in performance areas approved for assessment.
A More Resilient Architecture
The program includes infrared sensor payloads designed to detect launches and track dim or maneuvering objects. It also includes features intended to help maintain operations in contested space environments.
On the ground, a newer processing architecture is being developed to handle larger volumes of sensor data and deliver information to military decision-makers. The satellite is based on Lockheed Martin’s LM 2100 Combat Bus and is designed with upgraded communications, power, propulsion and electronic systems. Onboard processing is intended to help keep the mission running when communications are disrupted.
Sprunck said engineering teams have used analysis and modeling tools to simulate mission stages, from launch to detection in orbit. The work draws on SBIRS experience and representative mission scenarios to guide development and integration.
Engineering and Workforce
Engineers are working across the payload, ground systems and spacecraft, using digital design methods and simulations to test how the pieces function together. The program has also conducted early demonstrations and space-to-ground integration tests under simulated mission conditions.
Theresa Ito, the program’s principal systems engineer, said the effort brings together specialists from Lockheed Martin, the Space Force, subcontractors and supply-chain partners to tackle development and integration challenges.
The team includes people with years of SBIRS experience as well as newer engineers. Ito said the mix of institutional knowledge and fresh perspectives is helping support the program’s work.
SBIRS is expected to continue providing early warning for traditional ballistic missile threats. Next Gen OPIR GEO is being developed to extend those capabilities as missile warning and tracking needs change.
