Support Equipment

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS

Also known as
  • Space-Based Infrared System
  • Space Based Infrared System
  • SBIRS
  • SBIRS High
  • SBIRS GEO
  • SBIRS HEO
  • SBIRS GEO-5
  • SBIRS GEO-6

Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is the U.S. Space Force space-based missile-warning constellation that replaced Defense Support Program coverage with geosynchronous satellites, highly elliptical orbit payloads, and consolidated ground processing. Lockheed Martin led the space and ground system, Northrop Grumman supplied infrared payloads, and official reporting says SBIRS provided early warning during Iran's April 2024 missile and drone attack on Israel.

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS, Missile-warning satellite constellation, Support Equipment
Image source: File:SBIRS-GEO.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Missile-warning satellite constellation
Service note
2011-2022 GEO launch series; ongoing HEO and ground operations

Specifications

Mission
Space-based missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence, and battlespace awareness
Orbit mix
Six geosynchronous satellites and four highly elliptical orbit payloads
Infrared payload
Scanner and step-stare sensors detecting short-wave and mid-wave infrared signals
Satellite dimensions
Approximately 49 feet x 22 feet x 20 feet with appendages deployed on orbit
Sensor dimensions
Approximately 7 feet x 4 feet x 3 feet; about 530 pounds
On-orbit mass
Approximately 5,525 pounds including a 1,100-pound two-sensor payload and 430 pounds of fuel
Spacecraft bus
Militarized, radiation-hardened spacecraft with power, attitude control, command and control, and five mission data downlinks
Ground segment
Consolidated ground system and Mission Control Station supporting GEO, HEO, and legacy DSP operations
Successor architecture
Next Gen OPIR and FORGE are described as follow-on missile-warning and ground-processing programs that continue or process SBIRS mission data
Variants

Public sources describe SBIRS High as the operational GEO and HEO warning architecture after SBIRS Low was transferred to the Missile Defense Agency and renamed the Space Tracking and Surveillance System.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
SBIRS GEOGeosynchronous warning satellites

The Space Force fact sheet lists six GEO satellite launches from May 2011 through August 2022 and describes GEO satellites as part of the space segment managed through the SBIRS Mission Control Station.

Sources: Space Based Infrared System

SBIRS HEOHosted infrared payloads in highly elliptical orbit

Space Systems Command reported four HEO payloads carried on host satellites for polar-region tracking, with the first HEO payload delivered to its host in 2004.

Sources: SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking

SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6Modernized final GEO spacecraft

The final two GEO satellites used Lockheed Martin's modernized LM 2100 spacecraft bus, while Space Systems Command described GEO-6 as the sixth and final planned SBIRS GEO satellite.

Sources: SBIRS GEO-5 Space Vehicle Enters Critical Thermal Vacuum Testing, SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking

SBIRS Low / STSSTransferred midcourse-tracking branch

Space Systems Command says the SBIRS Low branch was transferred to the Missile Defense Agency in 2001 and renamed the Space Tracking and Surveillance System.

Sources: SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking

Missile-Warning Architecture

SBIRS is best read as a strategic warning layer inside a larger missile-defense and overhead persistent infrared architecture.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
C2BMC, Ballistic missile defense command-and-control system, Support EquipmentC2BMCBattle management and communications network

Lockheed Martin describes C2BMC as fusing sensor and threat data across the missile-defense architecture, including space-based warning sources such as SBIRS.

Sources: C2BMC future upgrades

Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared / Next Gen OPIR, Missile-warning satellite family, Support EquipmentNext Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared / Next Gen OPIRSuccessor missile-warning satellite family

Space Systems Command describes Next Gen OPIR as the follow-on missile-warning constellation, while FORGE is intended to process data from SBIRS and the next-generation satellites.

Sources: SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking

Evidence boundary

Public sources directly document SBIRS warning support during the April 2024 Iran-Israel exchange and January 2020 Iranian missile launches toward Al Asad, while most other SBIRS coverage remains general missile-warning architecture rather than conflict-specific use.

Sources: Space Warfighter Heritage: The First Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Element Launched into Space, SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking, Space Based Infrared System

Timeline

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS Key Events

  1. First HEO payload delivered to host satellite

    Space Systems Command says the first SBIRS HEO payload was delivered to its host in 2004, extending warning coverage through highly elliptical orbit payloads.

    Sources: SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and Tracking

  2. First SBIRS GEO satellite launched

    The Space Force fact sheet lists May 7, 2011 as the first SBIRS geosynchronous satellite launch.

    Sources: Space Based Infrared System

  3. SBIRS GEO-4 reaches operational acceptance

    Air Force Space Command accepted GEO-4 for operations, with the satellite sending data to the Mission Control Station at Buckley.

    Sources: SBIRS GEO-4 Successfully Achieves Operational Acceptance

  4. GEO-5 enters thermal-vacuum testing

    The Space Force reported that GEO-5 and GEO-6 were based on Lockheed Martin's modernized LM 2100 spacecraft bus as GEO-5 entered thermal-vacuum testing.

    Sources: SBIRS GEO-5 Space Vehicle Enters Critical Thermal Vacuum Testing

  5. First modernized SBIRS satellite enters Space Force control

    Lockheed Martin reported that the first modernized SBIRS missile-warning satellite was under U.S. Space Force control after launch and early on-orbit checkout.

    Sources: Lockheed Martin's First Modernized SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Now Under U.S. Space Force Control

  6. SBIRS GEO-6 closes out the planned GEO series

    Lockheed Martin announced the sixth and final SBIRS missile-warning satellite had launched and was under Space Force control.

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

  7. S2E2 ground system receives operational acceptance

    Space Systems Command said SBIRS Survivable Endurable Evolution replaced the legacy Mobile Ground System with a transportable ground station for SBIRS and nuclear-detection data processing.

    Sources: USSF reinforces resilience of National missile warning architecture through SBIRS S2E2

Media

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS Videos

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS Images

Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS, Missile-warning satellite constellation, Support Equipment - view 1
Source: File:SBIRS-GEO_3.jpg
Space-Based Infrared System / SBIRS, Missile-warning satellite constellation, Support Equipment - view 2
Source: File:SBIRS-Architecture.png
Related Weapon Systems
Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared / Next Gen OPIR, Missile-warning satellite family, Support EquipmentSupport EquipmentNext Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared / Next Gen OPIRMissile-warning satellite familyNext Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next Gen OPIR) is the U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellite family intended to succeed SBIRS inside a wider multi-orbit warning and tracking architecture. Lockheed Martin leads the GEO component on an LM 2100 Combat bus, Northrop Grumman leads the Polar component, and 2026 budget reporting shows the Polar leg under congressional review as LEO and MEO warning layers expand.
IRST21 Sensor System, Passive long-wave infrared search-and-track sensor system, Support EquipmentSupport EquipmentIRST21 Sensor SystemPassive long-wave infrared search-and-track sensor systemIRST21 is Lockheed Martin's passive long-wave infrared search-and-track sensor family for fighter aircraft, packaged either inside the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet centerline tank or in the modular Legion Pod. It gives aircraft a non-emitting air-to-air detection and tracking channel, has supported F-15C missile-cue testing with AIM-9X and AIM-120 shots, and moved into Navy IRST Block II fielding for the Super Hornet in 2025.

Sources

Space Warfighter Heritage: The First Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Element Launched into SpacePublisher: USSF Combat Forces Command | Note: Supports SBIRS used by U.S. forces to provide early warning in the 2024 Iran-Israel Exchange, plus GEO launch chronology and current 2nd Space Warning Squadron control. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Seconds Matter: Guardian on the Missile Warning Front LinePublisher: USSF Combat Forces Command | Note: Supports Space Force missile-warning personnel disseminating warning data during the April 2024 Iran-Israel Exchange and leading a SBIRS mission cell during the October 2024 Iranian missile attack. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SBIRS GEO-5 achieves Operational AcceptancePublisher: U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command | Note: Supports GEO-5 operational acceptance, LM2100 Combat Bus context, Space Delta 4 and 2nd Space Warning Squadron operation, and SBIRS detection of Iranian ballistic missile launches toward Al Asad in January 2020. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SBIRS: Early Missile Warning SystemPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports the early missile-warning product framing, Lockheed Martin prime-contractor background, and general SBIRS system description. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Space Based Infrared SystemPublisher: United States Space Force | Note: Supports the sensor design, scanner and step-stare infrared payload, five mission data downlinks, dimensions, weights, launch dates, and the broader missile-warning mission set. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Space Based Infrared System - Buckley Space Force BasePublisher: Buckley Space Force Base | Note: Supports the GEO/HEO architecture, the follow-on-to-DSP framing, the ground-segment consolidation, and the Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman program roles. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SBIRS GEO-6 Launch Closes Out Two Decades of Progress in Missile Warning and TrackingPublisher: U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command | Note: Supports the six GEO satellites and four HEO payloads count, the SBIRS High/Low distinction, the STSS transfer, the 2022 closeout of the GEO series, the FORGE and Next Gen OPIR transition, and the long-running missile-warning mission context. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Lockheed Martin's Sixth and Final SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Successfully Launched, Now Under U.S. Space Force ControlPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports the final GEO-6 launch, the Space Force control transition, and the final planned SBIRS GEO series milestone. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SBIRS GEO-4 Successfully Achieves Operational AcceptancePublisher: U.S. Space Force / Los Angeles Air Force Base | Note: Supports GEO-4 operational acceptance and Mission Control Station operations in June 2019. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Lockheed Martin's First Modernized SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite Now Under U.S. Space Force ControlPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports the 2021 modernized satellite milestone and the on-orbit control transition after launch. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SBIRS GEO-5 Space Vehicle Enters Critical Thermal Vacuum TestingPublisher: United States Space Force | Note: Supports the GEO-5 thermal-vacuum test milestone and the GEO-5/GEO-6 use of Lockheed Martin's modernized LM 2100 spacecraft bus. | Accessed: 2026-07-03USSF reinforces resilience of National missile warning architecture through SBIRS S2E2Publisher: U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command | Note: Supports the 2025 SBIRS Survivable Endurable Evolution operational acceptance milestone and the transportable ground-station role for SBIRS and nuclear-detection data processing. | Accessed: 2026-07-03C2BMC product pagePublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports SBIRS being a missile-warning source connected through C2BMC. | Accessed: 2026-07-03C2BMC system profilePublisher: Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance | Note: Supports SBIRS being a missile-warning source connected through C2BMC. | Accessed: 2026-07-03C2BMC future upgradesPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports C2BMC fusion of sensor and threat data across the missile-defense architecture, including space-based warning sources. | Accessed: 2026-07-03File:SBIRS-GEO.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports public-domain provenance for the gallery image. | Accessed: 2026-07-03File:SBIRS-GEO_3.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports public-domain provenance for the retouched satellite artwork in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-07-03File:SBIRS-Architecture.pngPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports public-domain provenance for the architecture diagram in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-07-03