Some decision-making authorities, previously closely held by the president or secretary of defense, have been delegated to US SPACECOM, according to sources, but military space leaders want more freedom to act.
The project is designed "to increase Europe’s independence and superiority in space," the EDF's two-page fact sheet says.
A decorated combat aviator and biotech CEO advocates preparing for novel viral threats before the next crisis.
"I'm focusing on laser communication terminals because I think that's the strongest candidate to build in the US," Rob Geckle, CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, told Breaking Defense.
SSPIDR consists of several small-scale flight experiments that will mature technology needed to build a prototype solar power distribution system.
Fourteen vendors have been chosen to complete designs for two different pieces of an optical terminal that can connect incompatible LEO sats.
"Getting a laser beam on a spacecraft to point to a laser receiver on another spacecraft accurately enough with the right power levels, the right waveforms, etc.,-- it's not an easy thing," said General Atomics VP Nick Bucci.
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"This issue of classification and the challenge it presents to public discussion is ... part of the reason why we wrote this report. There's nothing in the public domain like this," says CSIS's Kaitlyn Johnson.
French Defense Minister Florence Parley says she has been exploring with French defense giant Thales concepts for what she called "fearsome little detectors" that "will be the eyes of our most valuable satellites."
Navy Research Lab's LARADO (Laser-sheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation) project conjures images of a Wild West cattle drive, and in a way that is apropos as space scientists have long been attempting to wrangle better estimates of the population of on-orbit debris.
Despite increasing uncertainty over President Trump's surprise proposal to cut $33 billion from defense, the Pentagon's R&D chief says he’s confident more cash will be pumped into laser weapons and new space capabilities.
AI is reshaping the Army’s approach to cyber, electronic warfare and command and control. At TechNet Augusta 2026, leaders outlined how they’re turning emerging technology into capabilities for the battlefield.