BAE Systems lands $1.2B contract for missile-tracking satellite cluster

BAE Systems Inc.’s Space and Mission Systems business has won a $1.2 billion U.S. Space Force contract to provide a constellation of missile-tracking satellites, Space Systems Command announced Monday.

Based in Falls Church, BAE Systems Inc. is the U.S. arm of British defense giant BAE Systems. Its Space and Mission Systems business is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

Under the contract awarded on May 29, BAE Systems will provide 10 Epoch 2 space vehicles for the Space Force’s Resilient Missile Warning Tracking architecture in Medium Earth Orbit.

Space Force’s Resilient MWT MEO program is focused on acquiring infrared sensing technology and integrating it into a new satellite constellation in medium Earth orbit. The satellites are designed to detect and track a range of threats, from intercontinental ballistic missile launches to maneuvering hypersonic missiles, according to a news release.

Epoch 2’s primary purpose is delivering resilient global hypersonic missile tracking access. BAE Systems is scheduled to deliver satellites every two years, and the first delivery of Epoch 2 is planned for fiscal 2029.

The Space Force’s MWT program could support President Donald Trump’s $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense system formalized in an executive order on Jan. 27. In May, Trump announced he had chosen the concept for the program from three options the Department of Defense developed, according to Associated Press reporting.

Trump also tapped Gen. Michael Guetlein, Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, to oversee the system’s development.

Lt. Col. Brandon Castillo, materiel leader in the Epoch 2 program office, said in a statement: “Epoch 2 is in alignment with the chief of space operation’s top priority to provide accurate real-time information to decision-makers. This allows for additional resiliency in the missile warning and tracking satellite architecture.”

Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems and Arlington County-based federal contractor RTX won contracts for Epoch 1 space vehicles in 2021. RTX, which was contracted to build three satellites, was later removed, and instead Millennium received a contract in October 2024 to build six more satellites for a total of 12.

BAE Systems Inc. has about 41,000 employees worldwide and reported $16.85 billion in 2024 sales.