Watchdog expects delays to Space Force’s next missile warning satellites (Nathan Strout, Defense News)

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the SBIRS GEO Flight 5 mission for the U.S Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 on May 18, 2021. (United Launch Alliance)

The U.S. Space Force’s next-generation missile warning constellation will likely be delayed, pushing the launch of the first satellite beyond its anticipated 2025 launch date, according to a Sept. 22 Government Accountability Office report.

The Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared constellation is being built to augment and eventually replace the Space Based Infrared System as the Department of Defense’s main missile warning satellite program. Like SBIRS, the Next Gen OPIR, which was initiated in 2018, will use a combination of infrared sensors in geostationary orbit and highly elliptical polar orbits to detect missiles all over the globe. The Space Force plans to spend $14.4 billion on the program through 2025, according to the report.

Watchdog expects delays to Space Force’s next missile warning satellites (defensenews.com)