The US Space Force is considering launching new missile warning satellites in unconventional orbits, The Drive reported.
The new spacecraft are expected to be in medium-earth orbit rather than geostationary as the existing Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellites. It is assumed that this will make it possible to more effectively monitor the launches of cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Raytheon and Boeing will be the developers of spacecraft prototypes, which can be launched in 2022.
In June, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the transfer to the Khmeimim airbase in Syria of two MiG-31K fighters, which can carry Dagger hypersonic missiles.
In the same month, C4ISRNet reported that the Air Force Research Laboratory's Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) satellite, which is the size of a football field, had completed work. The product was in middle earth orbit, experiencing the influence of the Earth's radiation belt. The main purpose of the DSX missions is called the collection of experimental data on radiation in near-earth space, which would help the US Air Force develop a large spacecraft under the appropriate conditions.
