Leidos to provide infrared sensing payloads for Sierra Space SDA missile-tracking satellites

Leidos will provide infrared sensing payloads and onboard signal-processing capabilities for 18 missile-warning and missile-tracking satellites Sierra Space is developing for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) Tracking Layer program. Sierra Space, based in Louisville, Colorado, received a firm-fixed-price Other Transaction Authority (OTA) prototype agreement worth up to $798 million to design, manufacture, and deliver the variant spacecraft. Sierra Space will act as prime contractor and mission integrator on its Horizon satellite platform. The Tracking Layer falls under SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), designed for persistent missile detection and tracking. SDA expects the AMDT3 satellites to be launch-ready by the end of 2028.