The Air Force has modified the fielding schedule for the Space Fence space-surveillance system, slipping the projected date for initial operations by two years to 2017, according to a draft statement of work issued last week. The Space Fence’s full operational capability milestone also has changed from 2020 to a to-be-determined date, states the document, released by the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass. Air Force officials envision the Space Fence as a dual-site radar system operating in the S-band frequency range to detect orbiting space objects. It will offer significantly improved performance over the 1960s-era Air Force Space Surveillance System VHF Fence that it will replace. Current plans call for two Space Fence sites: Australia and Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon currently are under contract to mature their respective fence concepts. (Draft SOW full document.)
The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.
