The Air Force decommissioned the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload following 27 months of on-orbit operations demonstrating wide-field-of-view staring technology, announced service space officials. “Given the successful accomplishment of the project’s mission objectives, and increasing budgetary constraints, the Air Force chose not to extend the current contract period,” states the Space and Missile Systems Center’s release on Dec. 6, the day of the decommissioning. Leidos (formerly SAIC) supplied the CHIRP sensor, which the Air Force and its industry partners launched into orbit on Sept. 21, 2011, as a hosted payload on an SES commercial communications satellite. During its months of operations, CHIRP collected more than 300 terabytes of overhead persistent infrared data that enabled the analysis of more than 70 missile- and rocket-launch events and more than 150 other infrared events, according to the release. “CHIRP proved the viability of commercially hosted OPIR payloads, and gave us tremendous insights into the applicability of wide-field-of-view staring technology to our missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence, and battlespace awareness missions,” said Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, SMC commander.
The Air Force announced a successful ejection seat test for its T-7A trainer, and an official told lawmakers the service expects the jet to achieve initial operating capability by November 2027—two signs of progress for the program.