Aging fleets of airborne radar are giving way to a new era: in 2028, the U.S. Space Force will begin launching satellites that will be able to track cars and boats from space, to supply ground moving target indication (GMTI) capabilities currently the exclusive domain of the E-8 JSTARS aircraft. It is not a platform change but a technology leap, pairing emerging radar architectures with real-time data fusion and interagency information sharing to meet the requirements of modern warfighting.
The heart of this transformation is the joint GMTI mission, a coming together of the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) playing a central role in data processing and distribution. Deputy Chief of Space Operations Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt called this phase “crawl, walk, run,” which underscores the incremental but measured process to deploy and operationalize the new satellite constellation. “We have designated Delta 7 as the lead Delta to help us deliver ground moving target indicator,” Burt said, which highlights operational intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) expertise being inserted at each phase.
The technological foundation of space-based GMTI comes from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems implemented in multichannel modes. Spaceborne SAR-GMTI systems, compared to airborne platforms, must contend with high satellite velocities, Earth rotation, and low signal returns from distant targets. High-resolution, wide-swath (HRWS) SAR architectures are currently the subject of research that is required to conduct wide-area surveillance as well as precise target imaging in a simultaneous manner. The HRWS-SAR-GMTI process divides the radar receive azimuth channels into multiple groups, allowing sub-group imaging and following GMTI processing from reconstructed SAR images. DBF-SCORE also widens the observation swath and improves noise performance, which is critical in discriminating moving targets against background clutter.
Signal processing complexity in such systems cannot be underestimated. More advanced algorithms, such as space–time adaptive processing (STAP) and displaced phase center antenna (DPCA) techniques, are employed to cancel out clutter and ascertain target velocities. Pulse repetition frequency (PRF) configuration is also optimal: it must balance the competing demands of high-resolution imagery and area-wide surveillance, as well as the need to avoid jamming from transmit events and nadir echoes. Simulated trials have validated such techniques, demonstrating that carefully designed PRF schemes can yield robust clutter suppression and high signal-to-noise ratios both essential for operational GMTI.
But technological capability on the satellites represents only part of the equation. The NGA and Space Force have established a joint mission operations center within NGA’s Springfield, Virginia, campus, a gateway to process and transmit ISR data the instant the satellites come online. The deputy chief of space operations, Gen. Michael Guetlein, explained, “The place that we devised, with the help of the U.S. Space Force, is this Joint Mission Management Center.” The center brings together guardians, NGA, and NRO members to manage satellite fleets and achieve seamless, timely data delivery to military leaders and analysts. “This is ensuring that everyone has visibility to that denominator … ensuring that we actually use good [information technology] for speed, to ensure that the task occurs and does satisfy disparate priorities at the same time,” NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said.
Automation and artificial intelligence will come increasingly to the fore. The Maven Smart System, for example, applies machine learning to process vast quantities of imagery and video data, accelerating the identification and transmission of actionable intelligence. As the volume and complexity of ISR data grow, the likes of such tools are essential to offering near-real-time insight to those operational people in the field.
Looking forward, the GMTI mission is only a stepping stone to even loftier goals: space-based air moving target indication (AMTI). The Space Force, backed by $2 billion in new research and development funding, is developing prototype AMTI satellites and wrestling with how to build them into an operational constellation. “There is no silver bullet,” cautioned Burt, and she said that several types of sensors and processing strategies “different phenomenologies” she called them will be required in order to track airborne targets as effectively as terrestrial vehicles.
The need is apparent. While its E-3 Sentry fleet ages and its E-7 Wedgetail replacement program is in doubt, the Pentagon is betting that space-based solutions will fill the gap. While others predict a gap in coverage in the near term, Congress moved to keep both conventional and space-based programs on life support pending the maturation of the new capabilities.
As the Space Force prepares for launch in 2028, the intersection of advanced radar engineering, interagency data fusion, and AI-based analysis represents a basic shift in the way the U.S. military will see and respond to risks on the battlefield and in the skies.
