L3Harris will provide technology to support the Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) mission, designed to accelerate the US ability to defend against emerging threats from hypersonic and ballistic missiles.
By Atharva Gosavi,
Published by Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
The satellites will use medium-field-of-view payloads to provide fire control quality data for missile defense.
L3Harris Technologies has received a contract from the US Space Force’s Space Development Agency to produce 18 Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 satellites.
The satellites, known as AMDT3 spacecraft, will support Golden Dome for America’s space-based capabilities. According to L3Harris, they will enhance national security by detecting and tracking advanced missile threats.
“L3Harris’ continued work in Indiana will deliver the next generation of space-based tracking capabilities that we need to protect the homeland and stay ahead of our adversaries,” said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
“This is exactly the kind of industrial investment that strengthens deterrence,” he added.
Satellites to carry medium-field-of-view payloads
L3Harris said the AMDT3 satellites will be equipped with medium-field-of-view payloads designed to provide fire control quality data for missile defense.
The company said the spacecraft will support efforts focused on threats from hypersonic and ballistic weapons.
“We are proud to provide next-generation technology that will accelerate the nation’s ability to defend against emerging threats from hypersonic and ballistic weapons,” said Christopher Kubasik, Chairman and CEO at L3Harris.
“As the industry’s Trusted Disruptor, L3Harris invested ahead of need by expanding production facilities and is ready to deliver missile defense satellites to support this national priority,” he said.
L3Harris has expanded its space manufacturing facility in Indiana and established a new satellite integration facility in Florida.
The company said it will immediately begin manufacturing the AMDT3 satellites for delivery and launch of the tactical payloads.
Golden Dome’s layered defense
Golden Dome is a planned next-generation, layered defense system intended to protect the US homeland against ballistic, hypersonic and advanced cruise missile threats, as well as other aerial attacks.
The system is expected to combine technologies operating across land, sea and space.
The US Department of Defense has said its architecture will include space-based sensors and interceptors, with its different components integrated into a broader missile-defense network.
The L3Harris satellites will contribute to the space-based tracking capabilities within that planned architecture.
The planned architecture includes space-based sensors capable of detecting and tracking incoming threats, as well as space-based interceptors.
Existing American air- and missile-defense technologies may also be incorporated, although the Pentagon has said the various systems will have to be integrated seamlessly.
Initial investments include additional missile interceptors, advanced sensors, integrated command-and-control systems and the development of new interception capabilities, including systems based in space.
The L3Harris satellites would support the tracking portion of this broader architecture by providing data on advanced missile threats from orbit.
Contract follows HBTSS demonstration
The contract builds on L3Harris’ work on the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor program.
The firm previously developed an HBTSS satellite and an infrared sensor payload for the Missile Defense Agency. The company said the satellite and payload completed a successful on-orbit demonstration.
L3Harris has more than 70 missile tracking and defense satellites on order, including five already in orbit.
The company’s work spans the Missile Defense Agency’s HBTSS program and the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer across Tranche 0, Tranche 1, Tranche 2, and Tranche 3.
The contract highlights how space-based tracking is becoming increasingly central to the United States’ evolving missile defense priorities.
See: Original Article
