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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Department of the Air Force relies on satellite capabilities to execute missions worldwide. Space-based missile warning systems provide warfighters with real-time intelligence and secure communications to help defend against adversaries.  Infrared sensors operating in high-altitude orbits detect heat signatures associated with ballistic missile launches and nuclear detonations.  This capability provides early warning and enables military leaders to make timely operational decisions.

Satellite systems also support mission planning by providing environmental data used across the joint force. Accurate assessments of environmental conditions, including weather patterns, are essential to mission success.  Satellite systems provide atmospheric data that support both ground and air combat readiness. Without this information, warfighters may be more vulnerable to adversary actions.

Despite their importance, Air Force and Space Force missions face operational limitations due to the finite lifespan of satellite systems. Increased global threats demand effective mission planning and reliable access to advanced technology throughout all phases of operations.

Meeting those mission requirements depends, in part, on the reliability and longevity of satellite power systems.

Extreme temperatures, radiation exposure and eclipse conditions can degrade system performance over time.  Conventional satellites rely heavily on solar energy and conventional battery technologies that gradually lose capacity, reducing mission endurance.

Current satellite power systems typically support operations for approximately 10 to 15 years. When satellites reach the end of their service life, replacement and redeployment efforts can create capability gaps. These gaps increase national security risks and may limit access to critical intelligence, communications and mission-essential data.

Advancing long-duration power systems 

With support from SpaceWERX, City Labs Inc., a Florida-based developer of nuclear-powered energy technologies, is developing tritium-powered betavoltaic power technology intended to address these challenges.

According to the company, the tritium-powered betavoltaic power source is designed to serve either as a primary power source for long-duration autonomous systems or as a secondary or auxiliary power source for higher-power platforms. The technology is intended to provide continuous power for more than 20 years without recharging, routine maintenance or dependence on solar illumination.

In 2023, SpaceWERX awarded City Labs a $1.7 million SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract to adapt tritium-powered batteries for Communications Security (COMSEC) systems. According to the company, the batteries operate at the nanowatt power level and are intended to provide more than 20 years of circuit-board standby power, reducing the need for replaceable lithium batteries.

In 2025, City Labs was awarded a $1.9 million SpaceWERX Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract to enhance a tritium power source for autonomous sensing systems. This effort is intended to support long-duration sensing applications and improve operational endurance.

Designed for long-duration operations, the tritium-powered betavoltaic power source can maintain critical functions, including health monitoring, communications, memory retention, and other essential subsystems, during power interruptions, eclipse periods, or degradation of primary power systems.

The battery is applicable to a broad range of systems, including satellites, unattended sensors, remote monitoring devices, defense systems, infrastructure monitoring, and other applications where long-life, resilient power is required.  The continuous generation of power allows energy to be accumulated and used periodically for higher-power activities. This enables duty-cycled operation of payloads and sensors while maintaining long-term autonomous operation, even after conventional batteries would have reached the end of their service life.

The increased frequency of satellite replacement and launch operations increases operational costs and creates gaps in critical intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and secure communications.  By providing decades of power generation without recharging, the technology could reduce the need for battery replacement, maintenance visits, logistics support, and system downtime. For space systems, technology can help extend mission life and is intended to reduce the risk that a mission will end prematurely due to power system limitations.

The primary transition partner identified under the TACFI effort is Lockheed Martin Space, which is expected to support future integration and demonstration activities for space-based applications. The project is currently progressing through the remaining TACFI technical milestones required to demonstrate a higher-power tritium-powered betavoltaic system capable of supporting autonomous sensing applications for decades.

Near-term efforts include completing device fabrication, tritium integration, system assembly, and performance validation activities required to demonstrate a resilient, maintenance-free power source for SDA, ISR, and other persistent sensing missions. Resources needed include continued TACFI funding for semiconductor fabrication, tritium loading and testing infrastructure, integration activities, environmental testing, and future flight demonstration opportunities.

AFWERX and SpaceWERX support the Department of the Air Force’s efforts to identify, mature and transition emerging technologies that address future mission needs. Through programs such as SBIR and TACFI, they provide pathways to evaluate commercial technologies with potential defense applications.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.

DAYTON, Ohio – Military aircraft are designed and built to fly under grueling, dangerous circumstances. Pilots rely on radar arrays not only to maintain situational awareness, but also for tracking and targeting capabilities. Radomes – enclosures made of fiberglass or other materials – cover and protect critical equipment, while allowing signals to pass through.

The radomes house the Airborne Weather Radar (AWR) that scans the atmosphere for turbulence, storms, and other dangerous meteorological conditions. Fighter jets use radomes built of highly specialized composite materials that allow radar waves to pass through without distortion, enabling aircraft to guide weapons, map terrain and lock onto targets.

Foreign objects, bird strikes and trapped moisture can damage these parts, leaving the enclosed systems vulnerable. Aircraft maintainers routinely check them for damage using non-invasive inspection tools such as manual X-ray equipment. Though generally effective, manual tools can introduce the possibility for human error. Damaged radomes impede aircraft readiness, hampering the DAF’s ability to generate combat power and deter aggression.

Improving inspection accuracy supports broader DAF readiness goals. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink has stressed readiness and modernization as necessary to maintain the country’s air and space dominance.

“With the X-ray process, a source is placed on one side of the aircraft structure, and the film is placed on the other,” said Shane Groves, a robotics and automation engineer at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. “When a nondestructive inspection (NDI) technician positions the source and film, it creates two opportunities for positional error to be introduced and leads to inconsistent results.”

Positional errors during the X-ray process increase the risk of radar degradation during flight and may affect mission execution.

Developing an improved inspection process

With support from the AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program, Compass Technology Group is working with the Air Force to address this problem. Through the SBIR/STTR program, AFWERX provides companies with funding to advance high-risk, high-reward concepts from feasibility studies to fielded systems aligned with Department of the Air Force (DAF) operational requirements.

Compass Technology, an Alpharetta, Georgia, firm, in conjunction with the Air Force Sustainment Center at Warner Robins Air Force Base, has used SBIR funding to check aircraft radar covers (radomes) using digital twin software. This system was tested on F-15 fighter jet radomes at Robins Air Force Base and produced results comparable to current inspection methods. Preliminary testing suggests the capability can be adapted for additional aircraft. Air Force officials are evaluating its potential to reduce maintenance costs.

Compass Technology adopted an existing radome diagnostic capability for Air Force applications to create the Radome Operational Performance Evaluation (ROPE) software. The ROPE system uses an augmented reality (AR) headset with a robotic system to help inspectors accurately position the film. The AR system shows the operator where to position the film and then double-checks the location and orientation, reducing positioning variability.

In 2024, Compass Technology received a Phase III AFPIT contract totaling $10 million for radome operational performance evaluation and tuning with machine learning methods.  The contract provided for a robotic system that collects radome and radar data paired with a data processing system and extended reality tool.

The system is designed to measure radome performance metrics such as transmission efficiency, beam deflection errors, and sidelobe levels. This system uses an advanced microwave mapping probe (AMMP) for data and computational methods in place of a traditional indoor or outdoor radome measurement range.

In 2025, Compass Technology received a $2 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to advance underlying computational capabilities through the refactoring of RayCalc simulations into a high-performance, GPU-accelerated Rust library, supporting additional digital twin capabilities and performance metric calculations.

The project also expands sensor integration and data collection capabilities by designing and manufacturing new end-of-arm tooling for cobot-mounted sensors and integrating them into the ARDS platform.

The effort updates the original ROPE software to utilize these new Rust-based libraries, extending the methodology for additional Air Force applications.

The future

Phase III work will include the adapting the technology for radomes used in the F-15 Radar Modernization Program, along with applications for C-130, F-16, and KC-135 aircraft.

As developments continue, Air Force officials plan to expand testing and fielding at additional maintenance locations. In addition to its use at the Robins Air Logistics Complex, plans call for its use at depots at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Hurlburt Field, Florida, and a Navy installation in San Diego.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.