Collins’ mindset of driving efficient delivery of innovative concepts is ex- actly the catalyst the MDA needs to develop and deliver the next-gener- ation missile defense shield, aptly referred to as the Golden Dome for America. This article highlights the MDA’s history, an MDA program that successfully applied a nontraditional acquisition approach, and how other organizations can apply similar ap- proaches to ensure success. On Jan. 27, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) calling for development of the Golden Dome for America, including a call-to-action aimed to intercept aerial attacks by U.S. adversaries. The order included the following specifics: To further the goal of peace through strength, it is the policy of the United States that: (a) The United States will provide for the common defense of its citizens and the Nation by deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense shield; (b) The United States will deter—and defend its citizens and critical infra- structure against—any foreign aerial attack on the Homeland; and (c) The United States will guarantee its secure second-strike capability. This EO takes us back to President Reagan’s vision for the Strategic De- fense Initiative, commonly known as “Star Wars”—an integrated space and ground-based network of sensors, weapons (interceptors), and Com- mand and Control (C2) to protect our Homeland from nuclear ballistic missile attacks. So, the pressing question is how do we as a defense establishment rapidly bring President Trump’s Golden Dome for America to fruition? Before we can begin to answer the “how,” it is nec- essary to understand the way MDA came into being and its more recent contributions to space. The Evolution of MDA The United States has long rec- ognized the importance of missile defense. Since the 1960s, various administrations have modified the national missile defense policy based
On Jan. 27, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) calling for development of the Golden Dome for America, including a call-to- action aimed to intercept aerial attacks by U.S. adversaries.
on political, technical, and financial considerations. Creation of the Stra- tegic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) in 1983 marked a significant milestone in the development of mis- sile defense; however, the technolo- gies developed and the associated organizations responsible for technol- ogy development continued to evolve. In 1994, the SDIO was officially re- named the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). The National Missile Defense Act of 1999 defined the mission for the BMDO, while the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 lessened the restrictions to develop and test these technologies. The DoD conducted a review of its missile defense pro- grams and determined that a more integrated and coordinated approach was needed to address the grow- ing threat of ballistic missiles. As a result, the MDA was established on Jan. 2, 2002. Since its initial founding, the orga- nization has focused on developing and demonstrating space technolo- gies and capabilities, along with field- ing advanced interceptors and C2, to better enable defense against missile threats. Space systems contributing to advancing the Missile Defense System and the Golden Dome for America include the following. Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX). The MSX was launched in 1996 and conducted under the BMDO. It employed a multiple-phe- nomenology sensor, including long- wave infrared, visible, and ultraviolet bands able to collect images on bright
infrared sources in space. MSX was one of the initial space-based sensors to demonstrate a capability to identify and track ballistic missiles in space during flight midcourse. Near-Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE). The NFIRE was launched in 2007 and operated by the MDA from the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) at Schriever Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in Colorado until its de- commission in 2015. The NFIRE’s primary mission was to collect high- and low-resolution images of a boosting rocket to improve under- standing of missile exhaust plume observations and plume-to-rocket body discrimination. NFIRE also had a secondary pay- load, the Laser Communications Ter- minal, which supported successful demonstrations of laser communica- tions as part of a cooperative agree- ment between the United States and Germany. MDA conducted more than 950 global space-to-space and space- to-ground communication links, as well as numerous experiments to characterize seasonal atmospheric effects on laser communications. Space Tracking and Surveil- lance System (STSS). The STSS was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2009 and operated by the MDA from the MDIOC until its decommis- sion in 2022. STSS used sensors ca- pable of detecting visible and infrared light, and it served as an experimental space tracker for the Missile Defense System and a test bed for future space sensors. A key accomplishment for
22 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | March-April 2025
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker