US Space Force names satellite program for GMTI — Breaking Defense
The US Space Force plans to begin launches of a satellite constellation for tracking moving ground targets from orbit by 2028. The program has been named the Resilient Radar System-Ground, or RRS-G, and its prime contractor is Northrop Grumman, Breaking Defense reports.
Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon, commander of the US Space Force's Combat Forces Command, announced this at the Air & Space Forces Association conference in National Harbor, Maryland. According to him, the RRS-G system is to be launched within the next two years.
Tracking ground targets
RRS-G is intended to carry out the Ground Moving Target Indicator, or GMTI, mission — detecting and tracking moving ground objects. Currently, ground targets are mainly tracked by sensors aboard crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The Pentagon has long sought to move this task, as well as the tracking of airborne targets, to space-based platforms.
Gagnon also said that last month the Space Force established its first space sensing and tracking unit — the 77th Surveillance Squadron. According to him, the unit was created to begin work on the GMTI missions that will be performed by the RRS-G constellation.
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For the GMTI mission, the Space Force is cooperating with the US National Reconnaissance Office. At the same time, the service is developing satellites to track airborne targets under the Airborne Moving Target Indicator, or AMTI, program. US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said that the first satellite for this mission is expected to be launched this month.
Funding and commercial services
The initial AMTI constellation is planned to become operational by 2028 following the multibillion-dollar contract that SpaceX received in May. At the same time, the source notes that the timeline for operational readiness of the GMTI constellation has not yet been determined. The US Space Force's base budget request for fiscal year 2027 allocates $1.02 billion for GMTI procurement.
Separately, Colonel Timothy Trimailo, head of the Space Force's Commercial Space Office, said that the service will soon conclude its first operational contracts with commercial companies for space domain awareness services. This involves tracking objects in orbit and determining their intent.
