SBIRS: Early Missile Warning System

Lockheed Martin's Sixth And Final SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Successfully Launched, Now Under U.S. Space Force Control.

SBIRS uses infrared surveillance to provide early missile warning for the U.S. military and is considered one of the nation’s highest priority space programs. The system includes a combination of satellites and hosted payloads in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) and ground hardware and software.

SBIRS Missions

SBIRS Missile Defense

Missile Defense

Critical information supporting the effective operation of missile defense systems.
SBIRS Battlespace Awareness

Battlespace Awareness

Comprehensive IR data to help characterize battlespace conditions.
SBIRS Missile Warning

Missile Warning

Reliable, unambiguous, timely and accurate warning for theater and strategic missile launches.
SBIRS Technical Intelligence

Technical Intelligence

Characterize IR event signatures, phenomenology and threat performance data.

Powerful Data Source

SBIRS has powerful overhead sensors that provide vast amounts of data. At the SBIRS Mission Control Station, Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, this data is being used for operational applications across areas like battlespace awareness, intelligence and 24/7 tactical alerts.


As the demand for remote sensing capabilities continues to rise, the U.S. Air Force’s newly created data utilization Lab is bringing together government, industry and academia to better understand how data from satellites like SBIRS can be better applied on and off the battlefield.

SBIRS Clean Room

Evolving SBIRS

These newest infrared surveillance and missile warning satellites, known as GEO-5 and GEO-6, are built on Lockheed Martin’s modernized LM 2100 Combat Bus™, which provides additional capabilities such as cyber hardening, resiliency features, enhanced spacecraft power, and improved propulsion and electronics.
SBIRS
Sixth And Final SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Launched
Following successful launch, the U.S. Space Force is now communicating with the sixth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite.
Missile Warning Missions Serve as Milestones for Caldwell
Lockheed Martin’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program has played a major role in Johnathon Caldwell’s 25-year career at the company.
SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Successfully Launched
The final satellite in the SBIRS program series, GEO-6, joins the U.S. Space Force's constellation of missile warning satellites.
SBIRS GEO-5 Operationally Accepted
The fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite built by Lockheed Martin, is operationally accepted by the U.S. Space Force.
Enhanced Missile Warning Satellite Ready Early for Launch
The U.S. Space Force’s latest missile warning satellite is ready for launch, after finishing production nearly a month ahead of schedule.
Lockheed Martin's First Modernized SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Now Under U.S. Space Force Control
SBIRS' New LM 2100 Combat Bus™ Drives Resiliency, Efficiency and Record Production Speed
Most Advanced SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Ready For 2021 Launch
SBIRS GEO-5 is First Military Satellite Using New LM 2100™ Bus to Drive Resiliency, Efficiency and Record Production Speed
The New ‘Hot Spot’ for Scouring Space Data
Whether predicting weather patterns or helping soldiers on the battlefield, tracking ‘hot spots’ of infrared light using remote sensing data can be hugely beneficial.