Summary
- Second DARC site contract awarded; enhances US-Australia-UK space domain awareness
- DARC enables deep space surveillance and tracking, providing critical defense technology
- DARC offers unparalleled space monitoring with global coverage, surpassing existing radar systems
The US Space Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract for a second Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) site for “GEO space domain awareness and tracking.” The development is part of deepening cooperation between the three staunch allies, the US, the UK, and Australia. Meanwhile, the US is reportedly looking for more ways to deepen its AUKUS agreement with Australia and other allies, potentially in the aerospace realm.
Next DARC site contract awarded as part of tri-national agreement
According to a news release by the Space Force, this is the second of three planned DARC sites designed to track objects in geosynchronous orbit “in support of US and allied space domain awareness.” The first site is already under construction in Australia, and the second site will be built in the United Kingdom.
Photo: US Space Force
“Leveraging the strategic locations of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, the global network of advanced ground-based sensors will monitor and detect any point in space from Earth, providing constant vigilance for an area of space essential for our security and way of life.” – Northrop Grumman
The move is part of a broader US trilateral partnership with the UK and Australia (signed in 2023) to expand what individual nations cannot achieve alone in the future of space security. While the Space Force may have by far the smallest budget of any US service branch (about $30 billion with a $15.6 billion space acquisition budget), Australia’s total military budget is not much greater at $36.6 billion for FY 2025.
USSF Col. Bryon McClain, the SSC Program Executive Officer for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power, stated, “With a growing number of space debris and objects now populating Earth’s orbit, DARC technologies detect small space objects and satellites quickly and with highly precise orbital information. DARC also identifies adversarial threats with the potential to disrupt/deny civil and military space services, making it a vital defense technology for the Space Force.”
Keeping an eye on the ultimate frontier
Northrop’s DARC will enable the three allies to see deeper into space – much further than previous ground-based radars. It will enable the US and its allies to maintain a space domain awareness system that is always watching so that they can protect their satellites.
“With three sites you get coverage of the entire GEO belt. DARC will provide unprecedented SDA capability for an absolutely critical orbital regime which would make achieving operational surprise exceedingly difficult for our adversaries.” – Northrop Grumman
Photo: Northrop Grumman
DARC will be in space, free from Earth’s constraints (like clouds), and provide full global coverage. Northrop suggests it will be able to see objects from 22,000 miles away (around the world’s circumference at the equator). It will have the farthest reach and provide the greatest detail of any radar currently installed on Earth.