“The LRDR completed a Space Domain Awareness (SDA) data collect event in January 2024 that proved the SDA capability, and the U.S. Space Force and MDA are in the process of formally declaring LRDR ready for SDA early use in April 2024,” according to MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins.
By Theresa HitchensHow to unlock innovation and savings for DoD: “commercial,” not COTS
Overmatch is fleeting and while traditional acquisitions can’t always keep up with new threats, a different and approved practice can.
The MDA request includes $105 million for the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR), slightly more than the $103.5 requested in FY24. LRDR, deemed a critical capability by US Northern Command (NORTHCOM)/NORAD leaders, will transfer to the Space Force to begin operations in FY25.
By Theresa Hitchens “The best missile strategy is to destroy the missiles prior to launch. A focus on missile defeat could enable distributed non-kinetic systems with larger magazines and the ability to engage missiles before they can deploy complex decoys, countermeasures, maneuvers or multiple reentry vehicles,” said Rear Adm. Sean Regan, NORTHCOM’s director of operations.
By Theresa Hitchens For the past 20 years, GAO finds, “missile threats from foreign adversaries have evolved, and MDA has faced persistent challenges as it attempts to keep pace.”
By Theresa Hitchens
One of MDA’s biggest investments in FY24 is for the Next Generation Interceptor, with $2.1 billion requested.
By Theresa Hitchens The LRDR not only will improve ballistic missile tracking for homeland defense, but also will contribute to space domain awareness, said Northern Command’s Director of Operations Brig. Gen. Joey Lestorti.
By Theresa Hitchens
The milestone follows a series of 2020 setbacks due largely to the coronavirus pandemic.
By Justin Katz
Millennium Space Systems is delivering on critical missile tracking constellation
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
As anxiety rises over North Korean rocket tests, the Missile Defense Agency needs better radar to tell threats apart. Which of those distant blips is an InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) warhead capable of hitting the US? Which is a burnt-out rocket boaster coasting harmlessly through space? Which is a decoy warhead designed to make MDA…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
