The Space Development Agency selected Millennium Space Systems to build eight satellites carrying advanced missile tracking sensors. The company, a Boeing subsidiary, received a $414 million contract for the Fire Control On-Orbit Support to the Warfighter (FOO Fighter) program. SDA plans to launch the satellites in the fall or winter of 2026.
SDA was established in 2019 to field a constellation of hundreds of data transport and missile tracking satellites in low Earth orbit. The agency’s plan is to field those spacecraft in tranches, adding more capabilities every two years. The Fire Control capabilities these eight FOO Fighter satellites will demonstrate are targeted for the third and fourth tranches. The spacecraft will showcase the ability to send precise targeting information to missile defense interceptors.
Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Sierra Space have received contracts for the agency’s first three tranches of missile tracking satellites, but this award is Millennium’s first in support of SDA’s proliferated satellite architecture. Boeing stated that the award positions Millennium as a key provider for future SDA capabilities.
Millennium, focusing on quickly developing small satellites, has been involved in a separate Space Force effort to put a fleet of missile tracking satellites in medium Earth orbit. The FOO Fighter program is described as a pathfinder in pushing the right mix of innovation, capability, and pace for critical customer requirements.
