Image: U.S. Space Force via DVIDS
The U.S. Space Force is developing a satellite-based system to track airborne threats continuously, aiming to replace vulnerable airborne sensors in high-risk combat environments.
The U.S. Space Force has launched the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) programme, a new initiative to give joint military commanders persistent, real-time air domain awareness from orbit. The effort comes as adversaries develop increasingly capable systems to threaten conventional surveillance aircraft.
Led by the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space-Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST), the programme aims to address a growing vulnerability. Deploying traditional sensing platforms into highly contested airspace carries escalating risk, and commanders need alternatives that cannot be denied or shot down.
A system built for denial environments
SB-AMTI is designed as a “system-of-systems” architecture, integrating advanced space-based sensors, AI-driven ground processing, and secure communications links. Artificial intelligence will filter data clutter to identify moving targets buried within vast sensor streams, delivering continuous tracking to warfighters without the gaps that ground or airborne sensors create.
“Our mission is to deliver a resilient sensing layer that ensures our joint warfighters maintain a decisive information advantage in the air domain—especially in a denied or contested environment,” said U.S. Space Force Colonel Ryan Frazier, PAE for SBST, according to the official programme announcement. “We are providing continuous oversight where traditional sensors cannot reach to protect their freedom of maneuver.”
The programme directly supports the 2026 National Defense Strategy mandate, which requires the joint force to maintain operational flexibility and the ability to act anywhere in the world. SB-AMTI does not replace a multi-domain targeting architecture, but it strengthens the connective tissue across it by adding a persistent space layer.
Acquisition strategy signals industrial shift
The Space Force has structured SB-AMTI around a deliberate multi-vendor acquisition model, drawing from both traditional defence contractors and non-traditional commercial space companies. The approach creates a competitive marketplace for advanced space capabilities, accelerating development while reducing dependency on single suppliers.
The model also varies by company size and maturity, widening participation to identify the best-suited partners across the industrial base. Officials say the strategy builds lasting industrial capacity, not just a one-time procurement.
“By utilizing this multi-vendor framework, we are capitalizing on established industry capacity to field these essential capabilities at speed and scale, while also partnering with industry to ensure a strong competitive industrial base well into the future,” Colonel Frazier noted.
The acquisition approach reflects a wider cultural shift inside the Space Force. Officials have consistently signalled that reducing barriers for commercial entrants is now a strategic priority, not an aspiration. SB-AMTI’s contracting model serves as a template for future capability competitions across the SBST portfolio.
Strategic implications
Persistent air domain awareness from space addresses a core problem in high-end conflict scenarios. Without it, commanders face blind spots the moment traditional airborne sensors are denied or withdrawn. SB-AMTI seeks to eliminate those gaps, allowing commanders across all domains to act with confidence on a continuously updated air picture.
The programme also reflects a broader recognition that space has become a warfighting domain in its own right — one where the U.S. military must invest to preserve the informational advantages it has long taken for granted.
Industry partners interested in the programme can track updates through Space Force acquisition channels as the SBST portfolio continues to evolve.
Source: U.S. Space Force
