Boeing to demonstrate air-space sensor fusion for U.S. military operations | Space

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Boeing plans to demonstrate sensor fusion technology that could enhance military situational awareness by combining data from airborne and space-based sensors, a senior executive said. 

This fusion of sensor data could be delivered to operators on the ground or in cockpits, said Kay Sears, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space, Intelligence & Weapon Systems.

The plan is to leverage data from the E-7 command-and-control aircraft that Boeing makes for the U.S. Air Force and data from missile-tracking satellites being developed by Boeing’s subsidiary, Millennium Space, for the U.S. Space Force. This air-space fusion aims to address a longstanding challenge faced by the military: delivering timely and relevant data to operational units, Sears said Sept. 16 at the Air Space & Cyber conference.

“We need to make sure those lightning strikes actually exist,” Sears said, using military briefing slide imagery as a metaphor for the urgency of delivering real-time, actionable data to warfighters.

Satellites in LEO, MEO

Boeing’s sensor fusion effort involves two satellite programs awarded to Millennium Space. One of these programs is the “Foo Fighter” network, a $414 million low Earth orbit (LEO) missile-tracking satellite constellation being developed for the U.S. Space Development Agency. These satellites are equipped…