May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Space Force said on Friday it has awarded Elon Musk's IPO-bound SpaceX a $4.16 billion deal for a satellite program designed to track and target airborne threats.
The Space-Based Advanced Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) is designed as an interconnected system-of-systems, combining space-based sensors, secure communications links and ground processing to drive closer cooperation across the government space industrial base.
The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome
missile defense system has many layers, one of them being a sensing and tracking layer. The satellites would be expected to play a role in tracking missiles.
The Golden Dome initiative aims to expand ground-based interceptors, sensors and command systems while adding space-based satellites to detect, track and potentially counter airborne threats, including still-debated weaponry in orbit.
The Space Force said there are several companies in this SB-AMTI vendor pool, including SpaceX, and it will issue multiple awards in the coming year.
"This initial award is projected to field a constellation of satellites by 2028, providing the Joint Force with an early capability to eliminate operational blind spots," it said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the Space Force awarded SpaceX, which is targeting a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion in its initial public offering, a $2.29 billion contract to build a secure, high-speed satellite communications network to connect military sensors and weapons platforms across the globe.
The price tag for the Golden Dome missile defense shield has grown to $185 billion, up $10 billion, to accelerate key space-based capabilities, the program's director had said in March.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona and Shilpi Majumdar)
