More than a dozen sources tell Breaking Defense that tensions between the NGA and Space Force are rising on commercial ISR, with White House officials watching closely.
By Theresa Hitchens“We are clearly moving away from airborne ISR assets and moving into space. It’s the absolute right thing to do from a resiliency and sustainability perspective,” Air Force space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli said.
By Theresa HitchensChief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said the new Futures Command will not just be looking at what new capabilities the Space Force should build, own and operate, but also at how commercial tech, systems and services can fill some needs.
By Theresa HitchensAs well as leveraging space systems for its own operations, the Army intends to invest in capabilities to counter enemy space systems, the new vision document explains.
By Theresa HitchensThe Space Force’s 75th ISR Squadron is looking at not just how to take out enemy satellites on orbit, but also the other dimensions of space systems including ground facilities and the command and control data links in between, explained Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt.
By Theresa Hitchens“And so I think, as you see new missions come on, you can presume that that means more Guardians to perform those missions, and we’ll have to adjust the strength going up,” said CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman.
By Theresa HitchensThere’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on in space, from Geneva to Washington to Colorado Springs to Los Angeles.
By Theresa Hitchens“I don’t care what it takes to get after the threat. That’s really the cultural change that we’re embarking upon,” SSC head Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein told the Space Force Association’s inaugural Spacepower conference.
By Theresa Hitchens“We no longer regard information as a separate consideration or the sole purview of technical specialists,” the new ADP 3-13 says. “Instead, we view information as a resource that is integrated into operations” — from cyberwar to psyops, reconnaissance to deterrence, social media to camouflage.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Disputes over spectrum use by mega-constellations in low Earth orbit, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, also carry heavy political baggage at the 2023 World Radio Conference that starts tomorrow in Dubai.
By Theresa HitchensMARS is replacing the 1980s-era database, called the Military Intelligence Integrated Database, used by DIA for its primary mission of providing foundational military intelligence to warfighters and national security decision-makers.
By Theresa HitchensOne of the questions the Army’s ISR Task Force is grappling with regard to sensing is how best to “leverage the vast proliferation of commercial satellite providers,” said task force director Andrew Evans.
By Theresa HitchensWhile the NRO has never revealed exactly how many satellites it operates, historically its imaging and signals intelligence constellations have been made up of handfuls of very large birds.
By Theresa HitchensChina’s “space weaponry” arsenal “includes missiles that launch from the Earth that go up and destroy satellites, it includes lasers, it includes jammers, it includes a whole magazine of diversity for that,” a top Space Force officer said.
By Theresa Hitchens