L3Harris Technologies has received a contract from Boeing company Millennium Space Systems to build eight electro-optical/infrared EO/IR) payloads for the US Space Development Agency’s (SDA’s) Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (FOO Fighter) programme, L3Harris announced on 2 May 2024.
The FOO Fighter satellite system will test new technologies that could aid in missile defence and will incorporate fire-control-quality sensors into a scalable prototype constellation. The satellites represent a new, stand-alone programme that will track specific threats not addressed by the existing tracking constellation.
“As global threats continue to rise, these experimental FOO Fighter satellites will test new technologies to fill potential missile defense capability gaps within the Department of Defense portfolio,” Ed Zoiss, president of Space & Airborne Systems at L3Harris, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Equipped with L3Harris electro-optical infrared sensors, the US will use the satellites to provide enhanced fire control in support of global detection, warning and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems,” Zoiss added.
The SDA awarded an other transaction authority (OTA) contract worth around USD 414 million (EUR 385 million) to Millennium Space Systems to build eight FOO Fighter satellites, which are scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
L3Harris will manufacture the infrared payloads in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
