"The launch of SBIRS GEO-1 heralds a new era for missile warning and other missions enabled by overhead persistent infrared sensors, " said Steve Toner, Northrop Grumman's vice president of OPIR and Azusa Programs.
The reality is spelled out in the list of daily mission assignments displayed on a multicolored chart cluttered with boxes, letters and numbers: where the missions are, what type of aircraft or sensors are being used, and which team of airmen is assigned to monitor each one.
But the new aircraft will be much more sophisticated, will be far less visible to enemy radar and will have sensors that allow a single jet to take on missions that now require several aircraft.