The Air Force in on track for its Space Fence initial operational capability (IOC) goal of fiscal year 2019, according to Air Force spokeswoman Tina Greer.
Greer said Wednesday prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] is also working toward system acceptance in September 2018. Greer also said the Space Fence facilities, which includes the “man-camp,” power plant and radar, will be located on the west side of Kwajalein Island, the largest and southern-most island in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and also home to Bucholz Army Airfield.
Ground breaking for the man-camp, which will house 250 people working on the program, took place in November, she said, and site preparation for the radar site is underway. Lockheed Martin Vice President for Advanced Systems Steve Bruce said in January power plant ground breaking wouldn’t take place until toward the end of this year (Defense Daily, Jan. 23).
Space Fence is an S-band, phased-array space situational awareness (SSA) radar designed to help the Air Force identify and track space debris that could damage satellites or other space assets. Lockheed Martin, last year, beat out Raytheon [RTN] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] for the Air Force’s $915 million contract. Total contract value of Space Fence is valued at greater than $1.5 billion over an eight-year period if all options are exercised.
The Air Force is likely years away from its decision on whether it will build a second radar site, which it desires. The service wants a second site in western Australia, but hasn’t found the money in a constrained budget environment. Greer said the service will make a decision on building a second site following the successful delivery of the Kwajelin radar. The Air Force said in its budget justification book that the second radar site location will be determined pending negotiations with the proposed host nation.
The Air Force requested $244 million in its fiscal year 2016 budget request, up roughly 22 percent from the $200 million enacted in FY ’15. The service anticipates requesting $196 million for Space Fence in FY ’17. The engineering and manufacturing development contract, which Lockheed Martin won last summer, lasts through March of 2019.
The Space Fence Operations Center (SOC) will be co-located at the Reagan Test Site Operation Center in Huntsville, Ala., according to an Army statement. Eleven of the 100 islands comprising Kwajalein Atoll are leased by the United States from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The United States provides about $75 million per year in compact assistance, education, health and infrastructure to the Marshall Islands, according to a Defense Department statement. That aid ends in FY ’23. The lease for U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll, home to the Reagan Test Site, runs through 2066.
Lockheed Martin’s subcontractors on Space Fence include General Dynamics [GD], AMEC, Cree Inc. and TriQuint.