Boeing to boost production of missile-tracking sensors for military satellites

WASHINGTON — Boeing opened a new production facility at its El Segundo, California, campus to manufacture electro-optical infrared, or EO/IR, sensors for U.S. military satellites, expanding capacity as demand grows for missile-tracking systems, the company said Feb. 20.

The 9,000-square-foot production area will focus on EO/IR payloads that detect light in the visible spectrum and heat in the infrared spectrum, enabling spacecraft to capture detailed imagery and identify thermal events such as missile launches.

Boeing said the added capacity is intended to support satellites currently in production by its subsidiary Millennium Space Systems, also based in El Segundo, as well as future demand. Millennium secured nearly $1 billion in contracts in 2023 and 2024 to build 12 missile-warning satellites for the U.S. Space Force that will operate in medium Earth orbit.

Including Millennium’s backlog, Boeing expects to deliver 26 satellites in 2026.

“This investment directly supports today’s national security mission needs, and we’re building capacity and technology foundations that position us for what comes next,” a spokesman for Boeing Space Mission Systems said in a statement.

EO/IR sensors are central to missile-warning missions. Infrared instruments can detect the heat signatures from ballistic and hypersonic missile launches within seconds, while electro-optical sensors provide high-resolution imagery used for tracking and assessment. The Pentagon has been expanding space-based missile detection as part of broader efforts to counter advanced missile threats.

Boeing said the new facility will allow it to stand up additional lines for new customers and programs, improve workflow efficiency and enable more scalable, repeatable manufacturing.

Boeing’s El Segundo campus produces national security and commercial satellites, including communications spacecraft and missile-warning systems. Millennium, which Boeing acquired in 2018, focuses on small and medium-class satellites.

In addition to the medium Earth orbit contracts, Millennium in 2024 won a $414 million award from the Space Force’s Space Development Agency to produce eight infrared-equipped missile-tracking satellites designed to detect and track hypersonic and ballistic missile threats.