USA Plans to Launch the First Interceptor Satellite by 2028

Lockheed Martin plans to test a space interceptor demonstrator capable of engaging highly maneuverable hypersonic missiles over the next three years.

Amanda Pound, director of advanced program development, stated this, DefenseOne reports.

During a press conference at the company’s facility in Gunstville, the company representative said that her office is currently analyzing various interceptor concepts, from lasers to satellites that turn into projectiles and maneuver towards targets.

“The goal is by 2028 to field an on-orbit demonstration of a space-based interceptor,” she said. “We have the capability to do that. We are ready to support.”

The missile interceptor satellite is to be a key element of the future Golden Dome continental missile defense system, which is to provide protection against advanced threats to the United States.

Lockheed Martin emphasized the important role of other, less ambitious components of this system, in particular, early warning satellites for missile launches, which should detect them in the thermal imaging spectrum.

The company spoke about the creation of a new “prototyping center” to test new concepts for a space-based missile defense system. It will test not only its own technologies but also those of partners and smaller companies.

The new facility was deployed on the basis of the Lighthouse Innovation Center. The company says that work is already underway – they are testing technologies that should protect both from the ground and from space against current and future threats.

Recently, CNN sources reported that the Pentagon has scheduled the first test of the Golden Dome missile defense system for the end of 2028, the period of the US presidential election.

One of the interlocutors in the defense department said that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to call this test FTI-X. The abbreviation stands for Flight Test Integrated, a test of an integrated flight system in which Golden Dome sensors and weapons will work in a single system to intercept targets.

Space Force General Michael Gutlein, who was appointed by Trump in May to lead the Golden Dome project, said the ambitious goal is realistic in terms of technology, but has other risks:

“I think the real technical challenge will be building of the space-based interceptor. That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics, that we can make it work. What we have not proven is, first, can I do it economically, and then second, can I do it at scale? Can I build enough satellites to get after the threat? Can I expand the industrial base fast enough to build those satellites?”

According to another source, the 2028 test may be only the “first phase” of the program. For now, the project is moving forward quickly, relying on existing systems to prove that the concept of a global missile shield deserves further funding.