FOO Fighter/F2

The Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter [FOO Fighter/F2] system will accelerate the ability to provide fire-control in support of global detection, warning, and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. F2 will demonstrate advanced missile defense capability by incorporating fire control-quality sensors into a scalable prototype constellation.

FOO is a humorous retronym that may have its origin from the Chinese charecter fú (“fortunate; prosperity, good luck”), possibly via Fúxing (“Jupiter”) in Chinese statues of the Three Lucky Stars. This seems to hae been picked up around 1935 as a nonsense word in Bill Holman's Smokey Stover comic strip, from whence it was picked up by Pogo, Looney Tunes, and others.

It was used by Jack Speer as the name of a mock god of mimeography in the 1930s. It was further popularized in computing contexts by the Tech Model Railroad Club's 1959 Dictionary of the TMRC Language, which incorporated it into a parody of the Hindu chant om mani padme hum, possibly under the influence of WWII military slang FUBAR, which had been repopularized by Joseph Heller's Catch-22, and was the McGuffin in the movies Savig Private Ryan ["What is FUBAR?" - 'fucked up beyond all recognition’]. In programming it appears as a metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and followed immediately by bar. thus, "Suppose we have two objects, foo and bar". Other souces report that foo is simply a corruption of the French word feu (“fire”).

More to the point, Foo Fignters is a term for mysterious aerial phenomena that were reported by pilots in World War II. The term ‘foo fighter’ was coined by a radar operator in the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, Donald J. Meiers, in 1944. He took inspiration from the popular Smokey Stover strips by Bill Holman. Foo fighters were basically UFOs, so by definition, they remainn unidentifed.

Foo fighters were strange balls of fire that dogged tne paths of allied pilots on operation over enemy territory during World War II. The term was first used by the US Air Force. The US 415th Night Fighter Squadron named the phenomenon "foo fighter" and reported it in November 1944. Witnesses thought the "foo fighters" were secret weapons used by the enemy. Weird colored balls of fire of fantastic and variable speeds that were encountered by U.S. and British pilots over Truk Lagoon, Japan; the West Rhine area of Alsace Lorraine; and over the Bavarian Palatinate during World War II.

Time Magazine reported 15 January 1945 that "Their descriptions of the apparition varied, but they agreed that the mysterious flares stuck close to their planes and appeared to follow them at high speed for miles. ... But front-line correspondents and armchair experts had a Buck Rogers field day. They solemnly guessed: 1) that the balls of fire were radio-controlled (an obvious absurdity, since they could not be synchronized with a plane's movements by remote control); 2) that they were created by "electrical induction of some sort"; 3) that they were attracted to a plane by magnetism.... Some scientists suggested another possibility: that the fireballs were nothing more than St. Elmo's Fire, a reddish, brushlike discharge of atmospheric electricity which has often been seen near the tips of church steeples, ships' masts and yardarms. It often appears at a plane's wing tips."

On July 7, 2023, Space Development Agency (SDA) issued a DRAFT solicitation [SDA-SN-23-0013] for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s (PWSA) Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (FOO Fighter) Program. The draft solicitation provides an opportunity for industry to review and offer feedback prior to final solicitation posting. The Foo Fighter (F2) system will accelerate the ability to provide fire-control in support of global detection, warning, and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. The F2 system will demonstrate advanced missile defense capability by incorporating fire control-quality sensors into a prototype constellation.

SDA plans to purchase and deploy eight (8) F2s SVs with EO/IR sensors using more than one vendor. SDA may also acquire additional satellites and sensor payloads under these OTAs to inform requirements and constellation design. The prototype F2 constellation will be launched no later than 2ndQ FY26 in a single launch.

Space Devlopment Agency requested bids 05 December 2023 for as many as eight electro-optical infrared sensor satellites to help detect, track and target hypersonic missiles. This is a more advanced type of space sensor than those SDA already is buying for a large missile-defense constellation known as the Tracking Layer. The new solicitation is for “fire-control on orbit” sensor satellites that detect a target, track its movements with precision, continuously update its position and trajectory, and assist in accurately aiming and directing weapons towards the target. Responses due Jan. 19, 2024.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is issuing an Other Transaction program solicitation for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's (PWSA) Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (FOO Fighter or F2) Program. The solicitation requests the design, fabrication and launch of four (4) F2 Space Vehicles (SVs), with the option for eight (8). SDA plans to purchase and deploy eight (8) F2s SVs with EO/IR sensors with awards made to one or two vendors.

The F2 system will accelerate the ability to provide fire-control in support of global detection, warning, and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. F2 will demonstrate advanced missile defense capability by incorporating fire control-quality sensors into a scalable prototype constellation.

The Performer shall be responsible for the overall technical and program management of the Program, and technical planning and execution shall remain with the Performer. The SDA Agreements Officer’s Representative (AOR) shall provide recommendations to program developments and technical collaboration and be responsible for the review and verification of the milestones. As a result of meetings, reviews, or at any time during the term of the Agreement, research progress or results may indicate that a change in the SOW and/or the Schedule of Milestones and Payments would be beneficial to program objectives.

Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Controlled Technical Information (CTI) is of paramount importance to SDA and can directly impact the ability of SDA to successfully conduct its mission. Therefore, the SDA requires the performer to protect CUI and CTI that resides on the performer’s information systems.

The Parties agree that research findings and technology developments arising under this Agreement may constitute a significant enhancement to the national defense, and to the economic vitality of the United States. Accordingly, access to important technology developments under this Agreement by Foreign Firms or Institutions must be carefully controlled. The controls contemplated in this Article are in addition to, and are not intended to change or supersede, the provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 C.F.R. Part 120, et seq.), DoD Manual 5220.22, Volume 2 (August 1, 2018), and the Department of Commerce’s Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. Part 730, et seq.).

There shall be no dissemination or publication, except within and between the Performer and any subcontractors, of information developed under this Agreement or contained in the reports to be furnished pursuant to this Agreement without prior written approval of the AO. All technical reports will be given proper review by appropriate authority to determine which Distribution Statement is to be applied prior to the initial distribution of these reports by the Performer. Unclassified patent related documents are exempt from prepublication controls and this review requirement. There shall be no dissemination or publication, except within and between the Performer and any subcontractor(s), of information developed under this effort without first obtaining approval for public release from SDA.

Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits on or after August 13, 2019 procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. This includes telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities). For the purpose of public safety, security of Government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, this prohibition incudes video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities).

SDA may also acquire additional satellites and sensor payloads under awards resulting from this solicitation to inform requirements and constellation design. The prototype F2 constellation will be launched no later than 4QFY2026 on a single government provided launch.