Summary: The U.S. Space Force has awarded a contract through its newly established PAE for SBST, leveraging innovative acquisition strategies to rapidly develop the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program and deliver advanced global tracking capabilities to the Joint Force.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The acting U.S. Space Force (USSF) Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Space Based Sensing & Targeting (SBST) has awarded a competitive Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement for $4.16 billion to SpaceX for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program. This award accelerates the delivery of a space-based sensing layer designed to track and target airborne threats globally.
The long-standing method of military airborne platforms to track moving targets faces continued challenges as adversaries develop increasingly sophisticated anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems. To compliment traditional airborne sensing, the requirement for a layered, highly resilient tracking architecture is evident. SB-AMTI aims to enhance the Space Force’s capabilities to the Joint Force through the establishment of a persistent, global capability to sense and track airborne targets from space.
“By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” said USSF Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for SBST. “We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program's rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements.”
Designed as a complex system-of-systems, the SB-AMTI architecture integrates advanced space-based sensors, secure and rapid communication links, and resilient ground processing, reflecting a rapid and strategic shift toward deeper collaboration within the government space industrial base.
To successfully execute this complex mission set, the acting SBST PAE is using a layered, hybrid acquisition model by combining the flexibility of an OTA agreement with the scalable, rapid-ordering structure of an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) acquisition approach. The office has also established a new SB-AMTI vendor pool, which leverages mature commercial innovations to meet urgent warfighter needs at the speed of relevance.
“By utilizing this multi-vendor framework, we are capitalizing on established industry capacity and continuously evaluating and onboarding the best tech to field this essential capability at speed and scale,” Frazier said. “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.”
Currently, there are numerous companies in this SB-AMTI vendor pool, including SpaceX; which were selected into this framework through previously awarded competitive OTAs as announced by the Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink during Space Symposium in April 2026.
This award executes the Space Force's strategy to deliver capability and ensure competition that actively leverages the best available technology across the entire U.S. industrial base to deliver this critical capability.
While this OTA Agreement establishes initial SB-AMTI capability, the Space Force anticipates issuing multiple awards in the coming year to drive a vendor-diverse expansion, enhancing capacity and capability for combatant commanders. This initial award is projected to field a constellation of satellites by 2028, providing the Joint Force with an early capability to eliminate operational blind spots.
Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient capabilities to outpace emerging threats and protect our Nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space. SSC manages a $15.6 billion annual space acquisition budget for the Department of War, working with joint forces, industry partners, government agencies, academia, and allied nations. For more information, visit ssc.spaceforce.mil.
Interested media representatives may submit questions regarding this topic by sending an e-mail to SSCpa.media@spaceforce.mil.
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