Boeing’s new EO/IR production space in El Segundo, California. Photo: Zeyad Maasarani/Boeing

Boeing is ramping up satellite production at its facility in El Segundo, California, opening a new electro-optical infrared sensor (EO/IR) production line to meet increasing projected demand. The 9,000 square foot expansion, it said, will position it to meet its current demands, take on new customers and transition new technology into regular manufacture.

This comes after Boeing reported its highest satellite output in 2025, with plans to ramp further in 2026.

The new EO/IR line will support the construction of 12 Missile Warning and Tracking (MWT) satellites for the United States Space Force, which Boeing said are set to be delivered in 2027, and allow Boeing to compete for more future contracts. In 2024, Boeing subsidiary Millenium Space Systems received a $386 million contract for the second batch of six Epoch 1 Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites.

“Last year, we proved we can deliver at pace, and we’re not taking our foot off the gas,” Interim Vice President of Boeing Space Mission Systems Sam Greaves said. “We’re moving to more than double our satellite output this year, and investments like this, along with other factory upgrades and continued investment in our team, are how we do it with schedule credibility.”

Zeyad Maasarani, a Boeing communications official, told Via Satellite Boeing made the investment to stay ahead of demand and avoid future bottlenecks as production increases. Boeing spent more than $10 million to stand up the production space, on top of more than $100 million in research and development of the MWT payload technology, he said.

“Demand is coming from the shift toward resilient sensing architectures and the need to deliver capability at constellation pace,” Maasarani said in a statement. “Customers are looking for delivery credibility and throughput ─ not just one-off builds ─ as threats evolve and as the U.S. and allies expand sensing capacity.”

Maasarani said Boeing in 2025 posted its highest satellite output since its acquisition of Hughes Electronics Corporation and the creation of its Satellite Systems division in 2000, with double-digit deliveries. Boeing said in a private press release that it aims to more than double that by building 26 satellites in 2026.