The United States reportedly is set to launch 150 satellites that can track hypersonic weapons in orbit in 2024 — and keep a close watch on China and Russia.
The Space Development Agency (SDA) is looking for a contractor to design and build eight satellites with infrared sensors to track hypersonic weapons, according to the online military tech publication C4ISRNET.
The batch would be part of the agency’s initial group of 20 to be ready by 2022, and a first step toward having hundreds of interconnected satellites operating in low-Earth orbit, the report said. It plans to add more advanced satellites in the following two years.
The move comes after the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) released a draft request for proposals in February, saying it was looking to design and build an interceptor missile to defend against regional hypersonic weapons threats, the South China Morning Post reported.
“This 150-satellite network is part of America’s plan to launch more than 42,000 satellites into outer space to monitor everything – including hypersonic weapons, anti-satellite missiles and other cutting-edge technologies – owned by China and Russia,” the expert told the news outlet.
“And with the help of the SDA’s satellite tracing network in space, the MDA will be more capable of intercepting and knocking down all kinds of airborne weapons launched by China and Russia.”
The expert added the satellite network could be part of President Donald Trump’s missile defense strategy unveiled last year, a sweeping plan reminiscent of the 1980s “Star Wars” program. Though that program never developed, it cast a long shadow over Moscow’s political and economic calculations and arguably contributed to the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union, the South China Morning Post reported.
