In a strategic move poised to redefine surveillance capabilities, the United States Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) are intensely collaborating to develop and deploy a constellation of satellites capable of tracking aircraft and drones globally. This initiative, described as a top priority, promises a radical transformation in how America monitors its airspace and targets of interest, yet it faces significant technical and budgetary challenges.
AMTI: A Race Against Time for Airspace Control
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink recently highlighted the urgency of rapidly delivering airborne moving target indication (AMTI) capabilities at the Spacepower 2025 conference in Orlando. „The drivers we’re getting in the department is: deliver capability very quickly. So the focus is going to be on delivering AMTI capability very quickly. But we also have to make sure that we have a long-term strategy that goes with that,” Meink stated, adding that they are in the process of researching what that looks like.
The acquisition strategy will be competitive, based on multiple contract awards to different contractors. This approach mitigates the risk of single-source dependency and fosters innovation, allowing for the rapid build-out of this critical capability. However, funding the joint Space Force-NRO program requires authorizations and appropriations from different congressional committees, complicating the budgetary process.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman emphasized the substantial technical differences between ground moving target indication (GMTI) and airborne moving target indication (AMTI). „So GMTI and AMTI sound like they’re really close, just because one little letter that is all you changed, [but it] turns out they’re pretty different,” Saltzman explained. „Things on the ground move slower than things on the air, so require different levels of fidelity tracks.” This technical distinction underscores the complexity of developing AMTI systems.
The Budget Battle: Satellites Versus E-7 Wedgetail Early Warning Aircraft
In parallel with AMTI development efforts, the Department of the Air Force is grappling with congressional resistance regarding the Trump administration’s plan to cancel the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft program. These aircraft, intended to replace the aging E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet, represented a significant investment, with Boeing winning a $2.6 billion award for two rapid prototypes.
The fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), recently passed by the House of Representatives and now with the Senate, includes provisions that prohibit the termination of the E-7 program and authorize $846.7 million to continue its development and procurement. Secretary Meink confirmed that the Air Force would complete the E-7’s „rapid prototype test” as directed by the NDAA. He also stressed that the Wedgetail „already is being flown by some of our allies and partners,” and the Air Force is „working with them to see how they fit into the production run going forward on each set of new capability that the rapid prototypes will bring on.”
This duality reflects a strategic dilemma: will the massive investment in space-based AMTI capabilities supersede the need for dedicated airborne platforms like the E-7 Wedgetail? The answer to this question will shape the future of air and space defense.
