Advanced missile tracking system for U.S. Space Force passes key milestone
NewsNovember 29, 2022
EL SEGUNDO, California. A system used for tracking advanced missile threats from medium Earth orbit (MEO) has passed a key milestone for the U.S. Space Force's Missile Track Custody (MTC) program, manufacturer Raytheon Intelligence & Space announced in a statement.
The MTC, which was established to "accelerate the fielding of a resilient persistent detection and missile tracking capability for MEO," passed the tailored mission payload critical design review, the statement reads.
"Currently, the U.S. conducts missile warning and tracking from highly-elliptical and geostationary orbits and plans to expand the capability to low Earth orbit in the coming years," the statement adds. "MTC would provide another layer to the missile warning, missile defense and missile tracking architecture that provides the ability to detect and maintain custody of emerging missile threats, while also providing large area coverage with fewer sensors than LEO [low Earth orbit] solutions."
The purpose of the most recent test was to use digital engineering-based models and demonstrations to prove that key elements of the system are ready for fabrication, the statement adds.
