Tactical ISR satellites by Lockheed Martin to enable JADC2 capabilities
NewsApril 15, 2021
BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin has announced a new line of tactical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) satellites. These satellites, based on Lockheed Martin’s LM 400 mid-size bus, are intended to enable tactical warfighters to track moving targets at long ranges and operate in contested and denied environments.
Based on flight-proven components, an open architecture, and a produceable design, the company claims that the LM 400 satellite bus forms the backbone of this needed capability across a variety of emerging mission areas. These satellites fully integrate space ISR with the warfighting platforms and weapons of other domains.
The LM 400-based tactical ISR satellites are designed to be interoperable by following open standards like Open Mission System (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI), to use software-defined satellite capabilities, to enable extended operation of a wide-range of sensor technologies, and to be powered by on-board processing and connectivity,
The tactical ISR satellite line is also designed to enables in-theater, low-latency sensor tasking, on-orbit processing of mission data, protected communications and direct downlink of situational awareness and targeting information, intended to be essential to shortening the sensor-to-shooter timeline against fleeting targets.
According to the company, the LM 400-based tactical ISR satellites will play a key role in Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) by allowing tactical warfighters to better employ space-based capabilities.
