Boeing company Millennium Space Systems has successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) for the Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (FOO Fighter) in the US.

In April 2024, the company secured a contract, a total potential value of approximately $414m, from the US Space Development Agency (SDA) to deliver a constellation of eight satellites with a ground system and perform mission operations.

The programme is now gearing up for the critical design review scheduled in early 2025.

Millennium Space Systems portfolio lead Doug Hulse said: “We’re building off our common bus architecture, so our bus design is solid.

“For PDR, that allowed us to focus on the mission itself – that’s what’s critical.”

The FOO Fighter is designed to enhance missile defence by integrating fire control-quality sensors into a scalable prototype satellite constellation.

The programme aims to expedite the ability to provide fire-control in support of global detection, warning, and precision tracking of sophisticated missile threats, such as hypersonic missile systems.

The firm fixed-price contract forms part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's FOO Fighter programme, which is set to demonstrate the advanced missile defence capabilities of the proposed satellite constellation.

Boeing Space Mission Systems vice-president Michelle Parker said: “Just like the name says, our focus is the warfighter and ensuring our system can perform the mission they need.

“FOO Fighter really showcases our team’s ability to meet the mission, supporting a real-time warfighter need. Completing PDR in such a short timeframe is significant because it validates the feasibility and design of the system, ensuring we are moving with pace to meet mission requirements.”

The SDA has plans to launch the FOO Fighter constellation no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026.