| 02/18/2025 | | National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays. | | Welcome to this week's edition of SpaceNews Military Space, your source for the latest developments at the intersection of space and national security.
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|  | | | Space & defense brief ๐ฐ๏ธ
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Missile Defense in the Spotlight
President Donald Trump has directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth via executive order to lay the groundwork for an "Iron Dome for America" โ a sweeping missile defense initiative aimed at countering ballistic, hypersonic, cruise, and other advanced aerial threats to the United States. The Missile Defense Agency is hosting an 'Industry Day' event today in Huntsville, Alabama, where government officials, contractors, think tank experts and independent analysts will weigh in on key questions related to the role of space in the Iron Dome missile shield, including which orbits are most vulnerable to missile and anti-satellite attacks, how to phase-in space-based interceptors and how a multi-layer space sensor architecture should be orchestrated.
CSIS: 'Long overdue' focus on China, Russia threats
The executive order is bringing renewed attention to the missile defense-space nexus, a shift that is long overdue, according to defense experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). -
"This focus on Russia and China instead of just North Korea and Iran is about six years too late," said Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, referencing the 2018 National Defense Strategy's emphasis on great power competition. -
There is growing recognition that missile defense and space must be thought of together, said Kari Bingen, director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project. She said current U.S. homeland defense is not postured for advanced threats. -
"Missiles and aerial threats can come from different launch points. It's no longer just a missile shot over the pole," Bingen said. Space-based interceptors would allow the U.S. to engage threats before they can release countermeasures or start maneuvering โ without relying on ground-based access that could be blocked by foreign governments or denied territories. Challenging assumptions -
Bingen argued that past cost and feasibility concerns over space-based missile defense should be revisited, citing SpaceX and Starlink's rapid advances in satellite production and launch rates. In past decades, "we couldn't produce large numbers of interceptors before, and they were costly," she said. "I would challenge those assumptions now." -
Karako added that proliferated space-based interceptors will be critical if the U.S. is serious about countering Chinese and Russian missile capabilities. "The implications of space as a war-fighting domain are just beginning to sink in," he said.
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Hegseth Wants Acquisition Reforms โ Fast
Hegseth also is making a push for sweeping reforms in defense acquisitions, arguing the system is too slow, too bureaucratic, and too ineffective at delivering cutting-edge capabilities to warfighters. His goal? Strip away red tape, accelerate procurement, and ensure the U.S. military stays ahead of China and other potential adversaries.
Hegseth's priorities include slashing bureaucracy, fast-tracking emerging tech like AI, drones, and counter-drone systems, rebuilding the defense industrial base, and streamlining Foreign Military Sales.
Space Acquisitions Still Broken? Enter DOGE
Inefficiencies have plagued national security space acquisitions long before the creation of the U.S. Space Force, and they haven't gone away, argues Marc Berkowitz, a former Pentagon space policy official and Lockheed Martin executive.
Writing in SpaceNews, Berkowitz lays out a familiar but still urgent problem: The number of space acquisition offices has ballooned, key programs remain over budget and behind schedule, and critical satellite, ground, and user systems remain out of sync. Even the Space Development Agency, now under the Space Force, has yet to prove whether its commercial-like satellites will deliver real military capability. Meanwhile, adversaries are rolling out new weapons.
His proposed fix? Let the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) take a crack at cleaning up national security space acquisitions. Among his recommendations: -
Streamline oversight by elevating space policy within the Executive Office of the President. -
Hand major multi-user space acquisitions to the National Reconnaissance Office by "dual-hatting" its director as an undersecretary of the Air Force. The reasoning? The NRO has consistently delivered space capabilities on time and at speed. -
With space rapidly becoming a battleground, Berkowitz warns, the U.S. still doesn't have the force structure to deterโor winโa fight in orbit. His message to policymakers? Fix it before it's too late. Space Force Pressing Forward with Reforms
The U.S. Space Force, meanwhile, is ramping up acquisition reform efforts, tightening oversight of underperforming programs and pushing aggressively toward fixed-price contracts, a top official said last week. -
Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the service's acting acquisition executive, said his office is building on the initiatives spearheaded by former space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli to cut costs and streamline procurement. -
Purdy highlighted a long-standing problem in defense contracting: companies overpromising and underdelivering. But he made clear that accountability extends to government managers as well. -
"We are looking at taking action against poor-performing government program managers," he said. "First, we're going to give them help, provide guidance and additional acquisition support, and if they're not making it, then we'll look at removals." Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense (FORGED) Act in December to drive more accountability and agility in defense programs. -
"The Wicker Act is really fascinating," Purdy said. "We're big fans of it." -
While the FORGED Act hasn't passed yet, some of its provisions โ like replacing program executive officers with portfolio acquisition executives โ could make their way into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The National Reconnaissance Office has already seen success with a similar model, enabling it to shift funds and integrate commercial technology more efficiently. The Space Force has faced high-profile acquisition failures, including the OCX ground system for GPS, which suffered years of delays and cost overruns. Purdy said his team is now assessing risk exposure in cost-plus contracts โ especially those tied to complex, high-risk tech development. -
"We are now really looking to explore risk exposure on our programs," he said. "These typically are programs using cost-plus contracts, and they are really difficult technology. So we're going to look hard at figuring out how to get out of that, and that's going to be painful on all sides." -
One solution? Breaking up large programs into smaller, more manageable projects and easing overly rigid requirements. "We tend to have a lot of pretty harsh requirements," Purdy noted. "We're looking to draw some of those back." | | | | Space Systems Command Reaches Out to Small Businesses
The Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC) earlier this month hosted its inaugural SSC Subcontracting Forum to connect small businesses with major defense contractors.
The event in El Segundo, Calif., is part of SSC's push to inject innovation and efficiency into its $15.6 billion acquisition portfolio, which spans satellites, launch vehicles, ground sensors, and communications systems. -
SSC relies on major aerospace and defense firms to deliver complete systems. But now, SSC officials say they need agile, tech-savvy small businesses in the mix to accelerate development and stay ahead of adversaries. -
"Most of these small businesses are producing highly innovative technology that we would like to capture," said Aaron Parra, who leads SSC's Small Business Office. "But they aren't in a position to serve as a prime." -
The solution? A stronger subcontracting pipeline to connect small firms with primes. Plans are in motion to expand the forumโpotentially making it an annual event and adding stops in other key space hubs like Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Patrick Space Force Base in Florida.
| | |  | | | | Space Force Swears in New Recruits at Daytona 500
The U.S. Space Force made a recruiting push at the Daytona 500 on Sunday as top service leaders joined fans at NASCAR's biggest race to bolster engagement and enlistment efforts.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna represented the military's space branch at the event, meeting with racegoers and potential recruits.
Saltzman spoke with new enlistees and ROTC cadets, emphasizing the Space Force's mission and career opportunities. On the Daytona Track Stage, he led a formal enlistment ceremony, swearing in 22 new military members in front of the packed grandstands. | | |  | | | In other news ๐ | |
Washington-based Ravyn Technology Corp. is developing low-cost missiles propelled by solid rocket motors.
The company, established in 2019, aims to bring down the cost of missiles tenfold with its Mobile Mass Missile System. The sector "needs to be disrupted to create more competition in the market," Ravyn founder Saad Mirza told SpaceNews.
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Satellite manufacturer York Space Systems is making a strategic move to expand beyond hardware production into satellite-based services for the U.S. government.
The Denver-based company announced a new commercial services program aimed at delivering "critical national security capabilities as a service."
| | | | Thanks for reading! Please send comments, suggestions and tips to serwin@spacenews.com | | | | | |
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