Private Satellite Sensors Seen as Key to Military Tracking of Ground Targets

The Department of Defense has an opportunity to harness private industry’s remote-sensing constellations investment for Ground Moving Target Indication technology, according to Industry executives who joined the Satellite 2024 conference held from March 18 to 21 in Washington, D.C.  

In search of GMTI capability, the U.S. Air Force and the Space Force have tapped the National Reconnaissance Office for a replacement of the technology, like the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, which the USAF previously used to monitor troop and vehicle ground movement, Space News reported Saturday. 

Jason Mallare, vice president of U.S. government programs and strategy at small satellite builder Umbra, noted that private industry’s satellite imaging technologies have been deployed “even without a clear demand signal” from U.S. military authorities. Mallare disclosed Umbra’s work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the development of satellite imaging techniques and said more can be done if requirements, such as latency and product type, are specified. 

David Gauthier, chief strategy officer of space-focused consulting company GXO, called for a hybrid government approach using commercial satellite systems while maintaining a dedicated military GMTI to keep focus on fast-moving threats.