COLORADO SPRINGS — Eight satellites designed by Millennium Space Systems with sensor payloads from L3Harris Technologies have cleared a key design review, paving the way for production and a planned late 2027 launch, the companies announced April 7.
Millennium Space, based in El Segundo, California, is building the satellites under a $414 million contract awarded last year by the Space Development Agency for a constellation known as “Foo Fighter” — short for Fire-control On Orbit-support to the Warfighter.
The satellites will form part of the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, an extensive constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites designed to provide continuous tracking, targeting and communications support for U.S. military operations.
The completion of this design review marks the transition to the production phase of the program,” said Tony Gingiss, CEO of Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary. The company plans to deliver the constellation of eight satellites with a ground system in 2026 and will handle mission operations once deployed in orbit.
Gingiss said in an interview that the recent design review for the Foo Fighter program is “a good waypoint for us to demonstrate successful execution. … There is plenty of room to go, including the production, which always has its challenges,” he said.
Producing eight satellites of this complexity is a “pretty big run,” said Gingiss. “These are pretty sizable vehicles” even though they’re considered small satellites, he added. Millennium Space is building a new 17,000 square-foot facility within the Boeing campus to support this program.
Missile defense capabilities
The Foo Fighter satellites are engineered to detect and precisely track sophisticated missile threats, including hypersonic weapons that can maneuver at extreme speeds and follow unpredictable flight paths.
What distinguishes these satellites is their “fire control quality sensors” — specialized equipment capable of providing the precise targeting data needed to intercept advanced missiles.
“The sensors are capable of high-fidelity tracking of targets and providing exact coordinates to weapon systems on the ground,” L3Harris said in a statement. This level of accuracy aims to improve the success rate of missile intercepts, addressing a growing concern for U.S. defense planners.
L3Harris also announced that its infrared sensor payloads have completed a production readiness review. The company will manufacture these components at its facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts, where it recently invested $10 million to expand manufacturing capacity.
Expanding capacity
Charles Clarkson, vice president and general manager of L3Harris’ space superiority and imaging division, noted that company is investing an additional $200 million to increase capacity and upgrade infrastructure at facilities in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Palm Bay, Florida.
These investments anticipate future orders for missile warning and defense sensors as the Department of Defense prioritizes countering advanced missile threats from near-peer competitors, he added.
The company expects the Foo Fighter program to become a central element of the “Golden Dome” initiative, a project directed by the Trump administration to strengthen U.S. defenses against next-generation missile systems. While still in early stages, Golden Dome has become a guiding framework for integrating space-based tracking and interception into the nation’s larger missile-defense architecture.
