LeoLabs has secured a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to support a software upgrade for its expeditionary Scout-class radar, as part of broader US efforts to advance Space Domain Awareness (SDA).
The $4-million award, comprising $2 million from the Air Force Research Laboratory and $2 million in private capital, was issued through SpaceWERX, the US Space Force’s innovation arm.
Unveiled in April, the technology is a modular, containerized S-band Direct Radiating Array (DRA) system used to detect and track foreign launches.
The system can be deployed independently or configured as part of a dense network, depending on the specific requirements of each mission.
As part of the project, LeoLabs will also develop a roadmap to enable the radar to perform track-while-scan functions for maneuvering targets such as missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles.
The contract “reinforces the urgent need for next-generation radar systems and corresponding advanced software to meet evolving national security challenges and support rapidly evolving SDA requirements,” said LeoLabs CEO Tony Frazier.
Development Funding
TACFI funding is designed to support companies that have received a recent Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award within the past two years, aiming to bridge the gap between development and operational deployment.
The new TACFI builds on LeoLabs’ earlier $60-million STRATFI award from SpaceWERX, aimed at deploying a Seeker-Class Ultra High Frequency DRA radar in the Indo-Pacific by 2027.
LeoLabs received its SBIR Phase II award in 2024, which supported the development of the next-generation Scout-class radar, now set to be upgraded.
