BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Dec. 6,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT)
newly upgraded Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) ground
system received sign-off from the U.S. Air Force, enhancing the
constellation's ability to deliver infrared data that is critical
to early missile warning and defense.
The new SBIRS ground system serves as the nerve center for the
constellation, collecting large amounts of data from the
satellite's powerful sensors and converting it into actionable
reports for defense, intelligence and civil applications. The Block
10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved
threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared
information to see dimmer events faster.
Operational Acceptance of the SBIRS ground system consolidates
the Air Force's command and control of legacy Defense Support
Program satellites, SBIRS geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites and
highly elliptical orbit payloads into the same ground system. SBIRS
Block 10 also improves cueing data for missile defense systems and
allows for command, control and mission planning of taskable
sensors, as well as real-time and offline raw sensor data
processing for technical intelligence used by the intelligence
community.
"While launching a satellite is a highly momentous event, the
work continues 24/7 on the ground within command and data
processing centers," said David
Sheridan, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead
Persistent Infrared Systems mission area. "With the Block 10
upgrade, the mission-critical data supplied by SBIRS is now being
managed from a single ground control station, which is not only
cost-efficient, but also more effective in providing our Air Force
operators with the ability to characterize threats and quickly
provide that information to military commanders deployed around the
globe."
Already, the multi-mission system supports missile warning,
missile defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence
and also distributes raw and processed data in order to support
civil and emerging applications. With the deployment of the ground
system, Lockheed Martin will provide ongoing operations and
sustainment support, while continuing to enhance the system through
additional cyber security capabilities, automation features and
continued evolutions to support Air Force requirements.
The new ground system is located at the SBIRS Mission Control
Station at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, and replaces the existing ground
segment, which has been in operation since 2001.
The SBIRS development team is led by the Remote Sensing Systems
Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center,
Los Angeles Air Force Base,
California. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Sunnyvale, California, is
the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Systems, Azusa, California, as the
payload integrator. The 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base,
Colorado, operates the SBIRS
system.
For more information about SBIRS, visit:
www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research,
design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin