Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said the U.S. Space Force will help the U.S. Air Force implement a constellation of small radar satellites designed to track objects moving on land, Space News reported Wednesday.
Gen. Raymond said at the McAleese and Associates annual defense conference that the two service branches are working to develop concepts that apply GMTI satellites.
Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office launched its GMTI project as a secret effort in 2018. USSF's involvement may present more opportunities to the space industry, Raymond noted.
GMTI holds the potential to replace the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), a group of aircraft that support ground targeting.
Raymond said GMTI would perform JSTARS' mission without having the radar system on an aircraft operating in an active combat environment.
