Congress decided to allocate $200 million for the Space Radar program, $66.4 million less than requested. Lawmakers specified in the 2007 defense authorization bill that those funds should go toward development of a single Space Radar system that meets joint requirements, including those of the Intelligence Community. Congress remains in a wait-and-see mode until the Air Force completes SR restructuring, possibly the same incremental, block approach the service plans for TSAT. Until then, lawmakers “do not believe it is prudent to move beyond technology development, systems engineering, and concept definition activities.” They also want the Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence to submit a joint report by March 1, outlining respective roles and responsibilities, to include an updated memorandum of agreement.
As the Space Force prepares to field new fleets of satellites that can track moving targets in the air and on the ground, it’s working to ensure it has the organizational structures in place to onboard and operate those systems.
