The astronaut will be part of a four-man crew that will tackle a host of difficult tests within Earth’s orbit in preparation for NASA’s 2028 Artemis IV flight, which will be the first crewed mission to the moon’s South Pole.

Rubio’s mission is slated to serve as a proving ground for future lunar landings, as the team will evaluate how the spacecraft navigates toward and docks with commercial landing systems developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

“My Army training has been an integral part of the experiences that have enabled me to be ready for this mission,” Rubio, a former Black Hawk pilot-turned-flight surgeon, said in a Tuesday statement released by the Army.

“Serving taught me to lead under pressure, how to stay calm when the stakes are highest, and how to put the mission and the people beside you above yourself,” he added.

Rubio’s selection as a mission specialist for Artemis III comes after a record-setting 371-day mission aboard the International Space Station from September 2022 to September 2023, where he set the American record for the longest single spaceflight. The unexpected yearlong mission saw Rubio complete 5,963 orbits around Earth, travel over 157 million miles and complete three spacewalks that amounted to 21 hours and 24 minutes in total.

His previous journey was only meant to last six months, but a spacecraft coolant leak prolonged the mission.

Before he began eschewing gravity in pursuit of outer space, Rubio served nearly 20 years as an aviator and then physician. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1998 and logged over flight 1,100 hours — more than 600 in combat during deployments to Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq — before beginning medical school and training as a family physician and flight surgeon.

At the time of Rubio’s NASA selection, he was a battalion surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Colorado.

Rubio is one of three Artemis III crew members with military backgrounds. Andre Douglas, who will serve as a mission specialist during the flight, graduated from the Coast Guard Academy before serving as a guardsman. Randy Bresnik, the crew’s commander, retired as a colonel in the Marine Corps.

Bob Hines, who was selected as backup crew member, is a colonel in the Air Force.

Nineteen Army astronauts have taken part in NASA’s space missions, but Rubio and Col. Anne McClain are the Army’s only active duty astronauts, according to the service. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph Bailey, also on active duty, is an astronaut candidate and began his initial training in September 2025.

Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, announced at a press conference in Berlin that Germany is developing a European Space Component Command alongside a Weltraumakademie − a multilateral space training academy − and insisted that partner nations will be “embedded in the design phase” rather than presented with finished structures.

The meeting, billed as the first “DACH+L” format, expanding the traditional German-Austrian-Swiss defense dialogue to include Luxembourg, served as a platform for Pistorius to demonstrate traction on Germany’s €35 billion ($40.7 billion) military space investment pledged last fall. That program spans encrypted low-earth-orbit satellite constellations, military-grade launch capacity, and an expanded Space Command within the Bundeswehr.

Austria’s Defense Minister Claudia Tanner reaffirmed that Austria plans to put three operationally designated military satellites plus a test object into orbit next year, developed partly with Austrian startups. The program centers on two projects: LEO2VLEO, a joint initiative with the Netherlands covering imaging and navigation in very low Earth orbit, and BEACONSAT, an Austrian navigation satellite built for under €1 million ($1.16 million). Tanner said the satellites would be made available to partners and framed the push as essential for communications independence in a crisis.

Austria is neutral by constitution, though some have questioned how its deepening defense ties with European neighbors can be squared with this tradition and legal requirement.

Luxembourg’s Defense Minister Yuriko Backes, attending a DACH meeting for the first time, pointed to her country’s niche: established SATcom and Earth observation expertise that Luxembourg is “very willing to make available to allies and partners.” She and Tanner both referenced a forthcoming cooperation deal between the two countries on satellite use in July, without elaborating.

Swiss Federal Councilor Martin Pfister noted that there is no domain where Europe faces a greater dependency on non-European technology providers than in the space domain. “It is not possible for one country to solve this alone,” he said, though he called out Swiss state-owned company Beyond Gravity as a potential industrial contributor to a European solution.

Switzerland, too, has bent the limits of its longstanding neutrality to deepen its integration into European defense projects since the war in Ukraine. The joint accession of both Austria and Switzerland to the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative in 2023 was a prime example of this new thinking.

The latest moves signal a further deepening of these Central European defense ties. The conference alone was a remarkable signal, expanding the more established German-Austrian-Swsiss DACH format to Luxembourg as a fourth member.

What Monday’s meeting produced in concrete terms was modest: a reaffirmation of existing cooperation threads, a cyber exercise result − Luxembourg, together with the three other German-speaking countries, placed second at NATO’s Locked Shields event under German leadership in April − and political momentum behind space initiatives that remain largely conceptual. But the message was still clear: German-speaking Europe is serious about wanting to become a player in space, and the push for independence from the U.S. has gained additional momentum.

The proposal, called Project Able Baker, would solve two problems, the Air Force said. First, the new Sea-Based Recovery Stations would offer a cheaper way of retrieving reusable heavy-lift rockets so they can be launched again. And, it would provide a new purpose and refurbishment for decommissioned oil platforms before they become environmental hazards.

“This approach aims to provide the U.S. Space Force and its commercial partners with a distributed network of recovery sites that enhance launch cadence, reduce sonic-boom exposure, and leverage existing maritime infrastructure to lower operational costs,” according to an Air Force solicitation posted through the Small Business Innovation Research program.

The Air Force sees these old oil platforms as an alternative to using ships to recover rockets — a method used by companies like SpaceX. One benefit would be “reducing dependence on expensive, custom-built drone ships and facilitating higher launch frequencies,” the solicitation says.

To accomplish this, old oil rigs must be strengthened to handle the “specific plume, vibration, and high-intensity point-load dynamics” of modern rockets, such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, the Air Force said. The rockets are capable of sending heavy equipment into orbit.

Other desired features of the offshore oil platforms include “passive/active flame deflection, remote fire suppression systems, and precision navigation aids for autonomous landing guidance.”

In addition, these platforms should have “integrated barge or Vertical Takeoff and Landing systems to move boosters from the landing pad to transit vessels.”

The first phase of the solicitation calls for companies to establish the technical and economic feasibility of the concept. The focus is on “structural load analysis, environmental impact assessment, and the development of a regulatory roadmap for operations in federal waters.”

Companies may also be asked to identify at least three offshore platforms that can handle heavy-lift rockets.

Part of the assessment process should include the impact of sonic booms on nearby shipping and coastal populations, as well as the impact on the local ecosystem, the Air Force said. The platforms must align with the federal government’s Rigs to Reefs initiative to turn decommissioned oil rigs into aquatic habitats.

The second phase would involve fabricating and installing “a modular reinforcement kit on a representative deck section of an offshore structure to validate construction techniques and material resilience,” said the SBIR. Testing would use “inert-mass drops (10—25 tons) or static-fire simulations —to capture high-fidelity strain, vibro-acoustic, and plume-interaction data.”

The Project Able Baker SBIR has an unusually detailed list of potential dual-use benefits for the government and commercial sectors.

With the number of space launches and orbital satellites soaring in recent years, the Air Force envisions a series of converted oil platforms that can ease the strain on land-based sites to speed up the entire launch and recovery process.

“By repurposing legacy offshore assets, the system provides a strategic alternative to traditional coastal launch-landing operations, significantly increasing launch cadence while reducing acoustic and debris risks,” the SBIR said.

It would also enable Tactically Responsive Space capabilities “in deep-sea or high-latitude environments, critical for responsive space access.”

China is already building offshore platforms to recover heavy rockets.

Perhaps anticipating scrutiny from environmentalists, the Air Force emphasizes that the Sea-Based Recovery Station concept is an “environmentally conscious solution.”

There are “hundreds of offshore oil and gas platforms in federally controlled waters are reaching the end of their operational lifecycle,” the Air Force said. “Traditional decommissioning and full-removal processes are capital-intensive, costing upwards of $1.6 billion per platform, and often cause significant disruption to established marine ecosystems.”

“The Space Force will require significant additional manpower and specialized expertise to generate Space Control forces able to conduct sustained operations at a global scale,” the plan says.

For example, the Space Domain Awareness mission “will demand additional analysts, operators, and engineering support with a projected growth of approximately 30% in personnel.”

The Space Force currently has around 15,000 military and civilian personnel.

The Space Force also anticipates operating — and tracking — many more satellites. The Future Operating Environment report released alongside the Objective Force plan predicts the number of satellites in orbit will more than quintuple from around 12,000 today to 60,000 in 2040.

The U.S. satellite fleet will grow from about 7,000 to 30,000, while China’s satellites will soar from 1,900 to 21,000. To keep up, the Space Force must rely on commercial space companies, the report says.

The “Spacelift and Launch Range Control Objective Force will implement the ‘Spaceport of the Future’ concept for distributed, resilient, and hybrid architecture that is commercially integrated by design,” the plan said. “Supplementing the federal spaceports, the Space Force will build a competitive marketplace in which every launch site and provider becomes a networked node in a robust, adaptive national space access enterprise.”

The Objective Force plan also suggests the Space Force develop a more sophisticated approach to offensive and defensive space warfare than merely weakening — and being weakened by — the enemy.

“By 2040, the Space Force will move beyond near-term attrition-based methods to a mature warfighting approach centered on campaigning, maneuver, and reconstitution that preserves strategic advantage without driving unnecessary escalation,” the plan states.

In turn, this will require integrated formations that combine orbital warfare, electromagnetic warfare and cyberspace warfare with the “intelligence, command and control, and battle management capacity required to fight in contested conditions.”

The Space Force will also to tackle new missions, especially assisting the kill chain with space-based sensing and targeting, as well as moving target indication to track air, ground and sea objects in real time.

“Historically, the Space Force’s Joint contribution for sensing was predominantly environmental monitoring” and providing weather data, the Objective Force plan noted.

“The SB-MTI mission will “require establishing a new Delta [mission set] along with dedicated Squadrons for the Air and Ground/Maritime capabilities. SB-MTI Guardians will need training in DAF [Air Force] and Joint fires operations, and Service Components will need to expand to support Combatant Command tasking and integration into battle management and intelligence.”

By 2035, the Space Force will be operating second- and third-generation SB-MTI systems. “Until then, the Space Force must prioritize adaptability and force presentation,” the Objective Force plan said. “For the first time, Guardians will operate MTI systems that directly enable lethal fires in all domains, and the Space Force must accomplish sufficient work to ensure their readiness and integration into the Joint Force.”

The Space Force also wants enhanced capabilities in other missions, including cyberwarfare, satellite communications, command and control, and position, navigation and timing. It foresees a future of kinetic and non-kinetic warfare where nations “convert dual-use platforms into weapons of opportunistic denial.”

Combatants will use methods such as “dense, self-healing webs of satellites, drifting high-altitude stratospheric relays, drones, and cyber agents that operate through, re-route, and overwhelm single points of failure.”

The Objective Force plan also grapples with one of the Space Force’s biggest challenges: How do you train for a type of warfare that has never before been waged in human history? Its answer is to call for big investments into simulators for various missions, such as training missile warning personnel to identify threats.

“No assessment is more definitive than combat experience,” the Space Force said. “In the absence of that, the Service is working to field live, virtual, and constructive training environments. Even so, a campaign of learning should assess whether or not this is sufficient and, more importantly, how to supplement and adapt those environments in response to new learning.”

A global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network affecting millions of Starlink users had left two dozen unmanned surface vessels bobbing off the California coast, disrupting communications and halting operations for almost an hour.

The incident, which involved drones intended to bolster U.S. military options in a conflict with China, was one of several Navy test disruptions linked to SpaceX’s Starlink that left operators unable to connect with autonomous boats, according to internal Navy documents reviewed by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter.

As SpaceX rockets toward a $2 trillion public offering this summer – expected to be the largest ever – the company has secured its position as the world’s most valuable space company in part by being indispensable to the U.S. government with an array of technologies spanning satellite communications to space launches and military AI.

Starlink, in particular, has proved key to crucial programs - from drones to missile tracking - with a low-earth orbit constellation of close to 10,000 satellites, a scale that provides the military with a network resilient against potential adversary attacks.

But the Navy’s mishaps with Starlink for its autonomous drone program, which have not been previously reported, highlight the challenges of the U.S. military’s growing reliance on SpaceX and the risks it brings to the Pentagon.

“If there was no Starlink, the U.S. government wouldn’t have access to a global constellation of low earth orbit communications,” said Clayton Swope, a deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the drone test or SpaceX’s work with the Navy. The Pentagon’s chief information officer, Kirsten Davies, said the “Department leverages multiple, robust, resilient systems for its broad network.”

The Navy and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite facing growing competition from Amazon.com, which announced an $11.6 billion agreement this week to acquire satellite maker Globalstar, SpaceX remains far ahead in low-earth orbit communications.

Beyond drones, SpaceX has cemented a near-monopoly for space launches and provides satellite communications with Starlink and its national security-focused constellation, Starshield, generating billions of dollars for the company.

Last month, U.S. Space Force said it had reassigned its upcoming GPS launch to a SpaceX rocket for the fourth time, due to a glitch in the Vulcan rocket made by the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance.

WARNINGS ABOUT RELYING ON SPACEX

Democratic lawmakers have warned the Pentagon about the risks of its reliance on a single company led by the world’s richest man to deliver crucial national security capabilities. More recently, the Defense Department’s disagreements and blacklisting of AI startup Anthropic quickly revealed how an over-reliance on one AI vendor could create problems should that vendor be dropped.

Reuters reported last year that Musk unexpectedly switched off Starlink access to Ukrainian troops as they sought to retake territory from Russia, denting allies’ trust in the billionaire.

In Taiwan, SpaceX faced criticism over concerns it was withholding satellite communications to U.S. service members based there, “possibly in breach of SpaceX’s contractual obligations with the U.S. government,” according to a 2024 letter sent by then-U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher to Musk, reported by Forbes at the time. SpaceX disputed the claim in a post on X.

Reuters could not determine whether SpaceX has since provided Starlink service in Taiwan to U.S. service members. The Pentagon and SpaceX did not respond to questions about Taiwan.

“As a matter of operational security, we do not comment on or discuss plans, operations capabilities or effects,” an official said in a statement.

STARLINK ‘EXPOSED LIMITATIONS’

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband has been crucial to the Pentagon’s drone program, providing connection to small unmanned maritime vessels that look like speedboats without seats, and include those made by Maryland-based BlackSea and Austin, Texas-based Saronic.

In April 2025, during a series of Navy tests in California involving unmanned boats and flying drones, officials reported that Starlink struggled to provide a solid network connection due to the high data usage needed to control multiple systems, according to a Navy safety report of the tests reviewed by Reuters.

“Starlink reliance exposed limitations under multiple-vehicle load,” the report stated. The report also faulted issues linked to radios provided by Silvus and a network system provided by Viasat.

In the weeks leading up to the global Starlink outage in August, another series of Navy tests was disrupted by intermittent connection issues with the Starlink network, Navy documents reviewed by Reuters show. The causes of the network losses were not immediately clear.

Despite the setbacks, the upside of Starlink – a cheap and commercially available service – outweighs the risk of a potential outage disrupting future military operations, said Bryan Clark, an autonomous warfare expert at the Hudson Institute.

“You accept those vulnerabilities because of the benefits you get from the ubiquity it provides,” he said.

The command plans to break ground on a new headquarters facility on an approximately 60-acre site near the center of Redstone Arsenal in 2027, according to the City of Huntsville. The facility is scheduled for completion around 2031, with an additional year for personnel move-in.

“To guarantee uninterrupted command and control throughout the transition, USSPACECOM will phase the relocation of personnel and missions to Redstone Arsenal and operate from interim facilities while a dedicated, purpose-built warfighting platform, designed to meet the demands of USSPACECOM’s mission needs is constructed,” Whiting said in his March 17, 2026, prepared posture statement.

“I’m very happy that we’re able to take advantage of the MILCON reform language that the Committee inserted into the last National Defense Authorization Act, which is allowing us to build our new headquarters in a different way than we would have last year without that language,” Whiting said during the March 26 hearing.

A ribbon-cutting for a new Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at Redstone Arsenal, with capacity for more than 80 people, is scheduled for April. Whiting said interim facilities at Redstone Arsenal are being renovated and upgraded.

Whiting noted the number of personnel at Redstone is expected to grow to nearly 200 by the end of 2026. He added that he and Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink will “memorialize” a decision on the military construction agent “in the very near future” after discussions with Air Force and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials.

The relocation involves approximately 1,400 positions out of the command’s roughly 1,700 military and civilian personnel. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., has said that about 50% of headquarters personnel are expected to be in Alabama by the end of 2028.

The command is offering relocation bonuses paid over several years and coverage of moving expenses for civilians who relocate to Huntsville. A retention bonus has been implemented for headquarters staff civilians remaining in Colorado Springs until their functions relocate, according to a U.S. Space Command spokesperson.

“I need my workforce to stay with me in Colorado until their function is ready to move,” Whiting said. The command has described continuity, the care of personnel and families, and preserving warfighting culture as priorities during the relocation.

In January, Whiting appointed Maj. Gen. Terry L. Grisham, an Alabama native with nearly 40 years of military and civilian service, to lead the transition as director of the Program Management Office at Redstone Arsenal.

“Terry’s nearly 40 years of expertise is informed by both his military service in the Alabama National Guard and civil service with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command,” Whiting said in the January announcement.

“This experience — paired with his deep ties to the surrounding community — will prove invaluable as he leads our efforts on Redstone Arsenal to expeditiously relocate our warfighting organization while ensuring that the perspectives of both our military and civilian workforce are clearly represented,” he concluded.

The relocation follows President Donald Trump’s September 2025 designation of Redstone Arsenal as the headquarters location. Colorado has filed a lawsuit challenging the relocation; the Trump administration has sought its dismissal.

Space Systems Command announced Sunday that System Delta 84, working with prime contractor BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems, achieved the milestone nine months after the contract award. The critical design review is scheduled for this summer.

Space Systems Command awarded BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems a $1.2 billion firm-fixed-price other transaction authority contract for Epoch 2 in May 2025, the command said. First delivery is planned for fiscal year 2029, according to Space Systems Command.

“This milestone was achieved by a talented and dedicated team working in close collaboration,” 1st Lt. Sabrina Taylor, SYD 84 Epoch 2 chief systems engineer, said in a statement. “Using advanced digital tools allowed us to ensure the design is sound and ready for the next phase. … Collectively, we are demonstrating we can move quickly while maintaining technical excellence.”

Epoch 2 follows Epoch 1, a 12-satellite constellation being built by Millennium Space Systems, according to SpaceNews. The program is designed to provide persistent tracking of advanced missile threats.

“Our team is delivering to outpace the threat,” Lt. Col. Brandon Castillo, SYD 84 Epoch 2 system program manager, said in a statement. “This expanded constellation will provide the global coverage needed to protect our Nation, service members, Allies, and partners from the most advanced missiles.”

Within weeks of each other, the two largest U.S. commercial space companies abruptly shifted their priorities toward lunar development. The moves came as the Department of Defense accelerates plans for a next-generation missile shield known as the Golden Dome, raising questions about whether America’s return to the moon is as much about defense as it is exploration.

In early February, SpaceX announced it would redirect plans for a future city on Mars to establishing one on the moon. The reversal was striking, as Musk previously insisted Mars was the only meaningful destination.

Just days prior to this announcement, Blue Origin quietly paused its New Shepard tourism program for at least two years to increase focus on lunar development, framing the move as part of the nation’s goal of returning to the moon.

However, the timing may suggest a more strategic approach.

In December 2025, the White House issued an executive order calling for a missile shield prototype by 2028, critical for the Golden Dome initiative.

This order also set a timeline for an American lunar return by 2028, with elements of a permanent moon presence targeted for 2030.

Defense officials, such as Space Force Vice Chief of Operations Gen. Shawn Bratton, have emphasized that commercial partnerships will be essential to achieving these goals.

SpaceX is reportedly in line for a $2 billion Pentagon contract to build a 600-satellite constellation supporting Golden Dome tracking and targeting, though the award has not been formally confirmed.

The project would rely on low Earth orbit satellites capable of rapid, near-real-time missile detection. Such systems improve coverage, but remain vulnerable to anti-satellite attacks from adversaries.

The company’s shift to the moon could change that equation. Lunar-based infrastructure would sit far beyond the reach of most anti-satellite capabilities, offering more resilient communications and sensing layers.

In this scenario, the moon could become a strategic “high ground,” which could offer the Pentagon a more durable and far-reaching view for missile detection and surveillance.

Just 15 days before Blue Origin announced its shift toward the moon, the Missile Defense Agency added the company to its $151 billion SHIELD contract, a Pentagon program allowing firms to compete for Golden Dome-related work.

While no specific awards are guaranteed, the timing is noteworthy. Blue Origin is now putting lunar logistics front and center, pausing the New Shepard program to focus resources on that effort.

The company’s Blue Ring vehicle is designed for orbital maneuvering and refueling, capabilities that could one day support sensor deployment and flexible positioning beyond Earth’s orbit, where they are less vulnerable to attack and can provide broader global coverage.

Meanwhile, its Blue Moon MK1 and MK2 landers can deliver multi-ton payloads to the lunar surface, which could be enough to deploy communications systems, sensors or other infrastructure to remote locations, potentially supporting Golden Dome-like operations.

Taken together, these developments could suggest a broader transformation in the strategic landscape of space, one that increasingly intersects with homeland defense and global security.

The Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance project — also referred to as “Ghost Recon” (as in the Tom Clancy novels and video games) — is intended to address a vulnerability in America’s space-monitoring capabilities.

The problem is that DOD “lacks sufficient satellites capable of providing high-resolution space-to-space imagery and maintaining custody of both friendly and adversarial satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO),” according to the solicitation.

Hence, the Pentagon is looking for commercial satellites that can be launched within two years after the contract begins. Within three years, those satellites would become government owned and operated. Within four years, they will have to demonstrate the ability to “perform at least one drive-by (Sub or Super Sync) or an inclined track design reference mission (DRM) per week through the first year of government operations,” the solicitation states.

The goal is relatively inexpensive and scalable designs, including space vehicles, satellite buses and payloads that offer “high-resolution space-to-space imagery and accurate object characterization,” DIU said.

“These systems must reduce costs compared to existing and planned programs of record while achieving high-resolution image collection, allowing for increased collection frequency and detailed characterization of resident space objects (RSOs) in GEO. The successful deployment of these capabilities will significantly improve GEO RSO Characterization, Battle Damage Assessment (BDA), Positive Identification (PID), and Combat Identification (CID),” the solicitation notes.

DIU envisions a spacecraft that can move close to other satellites. The result would be “fully resolved imagery of an ESPA Grande-sized spacecraft and its key subsystems (i.e. star tracker, communications payload, mission payload) from a distance of no closer than 10 kilometers,” according to the solicitation. Ghost Recon satellites would also need to maneuver above or below GEO altitude to maximize solar lighting of the target.

Interestingly, DIU suggests satellites from other nations may be less than cooperative when it comes to having their picture taken, such as moving away from American space vehicles. The solicitation cites the possibility of using “several [space vehicles] to support collection of tasked RSO, [which are] used to support collection for uncooperative RSOs.”

While Ghost Recon satellites would mainly track space objects that have already been detected, they may have to search for targets themselves, including “detection and localization of untracked or non-cooperative RSOs,” according to the solicitation.

Contractors are asked to detail the capabilities of their designs, including the cost for a Ghost Recon satellite to revisit another space object every 30 days for 10 years. Companies must also specify slew rate, mission payload angular resolution and modular transfer function.

Minimum requirements include the ability to “successfully perform rendezvous and proximity operations,” according to the solicitation. Satellites must also be capable of operating for at least three years in GEO, meet National Security Space Launch medium and large standards for launch integration, and use Unified S-Band protocols.

Though DIU wants affordable spacecraft that can be deployed within two years, the solution mentions the possibility of refueling these platforms “to extend spacecraft lifespan, increase maneuverability for follow-on missions, and reduce replacement cadence.”

The project deadline is March 3.

Col. Corey Klopstein, program executive officer for Operational Test and Training Infrastructure and commander of System Delta 81, described the program’s focus on realism and readiness during a media roundtable at Space Industry Days in Los Angeles, California, on Friday.

SWORD, the Space Force’s primary synthetic training environment, is a cloud-enabled, digital simulation platform designed to replicate contested space operations, including orbital dynamics, electronic warfare, cyber effects and adversary tactics. It allows guardians to train in realistic scenarios without relying solely on live, on-orbit assets or centralized facilities.

The platform has been demonstrated in large-scale exercises like Space Flag, supporting hundreds of guardians in realistic training, and is being scaled for broader enterprise use.

Klopstein stressed that SWORD is being developed to deliver the highest possible realism and adaptability.

“Our intent is to develop SWORD and make it as realistic as possible and increase the fidelity as we work closely with our users to understand what they need … and increase that work with our contractors to increase the fidelity of SWORD,” he told reporters.

That realism is achieved through rigorous validation. Digital models in the SWORD training environment are continuously being updated and refined by cross-checking against hardware-in-the-loop facilities (integrating real components into simulated environments) and live on-orbit assets.

“It’s a constant back and forth in trying to increase the fidelity of your digital environment and make it as realistic as possible,” Klopstein said, stressing that the Space Force cannot rely on synthetic data alone.

Speed is equally critical. With adversary tactics evolving rapidly, Operational Test and Training Infrastructure is prioritizing rapid integration of new threats into SWORD.

Klopstein highlighted close coordination with intelligence elements and the National Space Intelligence Center to ensure timely updates to red threat emulations.

“We’re working closely with our S2 and the Field COM S2s, as well as NSIC, to get the latest information that we can and leverage that information to provide updates to any red threat emulations within SWORD … to ensure the greatest accuracy possible,” he said.

These efforts support a long-term vision of enterprise-wide access, transitioning SWORD to a cloud-based infrastructure so guardians can conduct realistic, distributed training from home stations rather than centralized facilities.

While current implementations are site-specific, Klopstein described the goal as creating “backyard ranges” so guardians can “train from their home station, using the synthetic environment as the source of the truth.”

The SWORD program is supported by 10-12-month agile acquisition cycles to close near-term training gaps, alongside a planned fiscal 2027 cloud pathfinder, as reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine and Breaking Defense.

On Dec. 29, 2025, SLD 30 issued a Request for Information to gauge interest from U.S. commercial launch providers in leasing and developing Space Launch Complex-14 at Vandenberg.

The RFI seeks to establish infrastructure for heavy and super-heavy vertical launch vehicles to address critical gaps in launch capabilities at Vandenberg. Current pads support medium and heavy vehicles, but the base lacks dedicated infrastructure for true heavy (20,000–50,000 kg. to low Earth orbit) or super-heavy (more than 50,000 kg.) programs.

If developed, SLC-14 would become the first dedicated super-heavy launch complex on the West Coast.

Qualified providers would finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the facilities, bearing all development and compliance costs in exchange for a fair-market-value lease.

According to the RFI, “A heavy/super-heavy launch capability at VSFB offers a strategic advantage to the USSF, the deployment of larger, more capable military satellites and facilitating rapid response missions during national security emergencies. Adding heavy/super-heavy launch capabilities at VSFB enhances resilience, diversifies the government’s portfolio, and accelerates satellite constellation reconstitution due to increased lift capacity.”

Located near the base’s southern boundary, SLC-14 is described as “the installation’s most viable site for large-scale heavy/super-heavy launch programs,” leveraging proximity to existing infrastructure.

The SLC-14 development directly supports the U.S. Space Force’s mission and “Race to Resilience” initiative by expanding assured access to space for national security, federal and commercial payloads, particularly in polar and sun-synchronous orbits. These orbits, ideally suited to Vandenberg’s location, enable global coverage for missile warning and intelligence satellites, as well as consistent lighting conditions for repeatable Earth observation and reconnaissance, advantages less readily available from East Coast launch sites.

Enabling heavy or super-heavy launch capabilities not currently available at Vandenberg enhances rapid satellite reconstitution, mission diversification and resilience against disruptions such as supply chain issues or operational anomalies.

This aligns with broader priorities for maintaining space superiority in increasingly contested domains. Diversifying launch sites and providers reduces single-point vulnerabilities in the national space launch infrastructure, allowing quicker recovery from adversarial actions or technical failures while facilitating proliferated constellations and hybrid military-commercial systems, key elements of resilient space operations outlined in recent doctrine.

Interested providers should submit responses by Feb. 12, 2026.

Recent assessments from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2025 annual report underscore the challenge ahead. According to the report, “China is aggressively positioning itself as a global leader in space technology and exploration, seeking to reshape international governance, influence standards, and displace the United States as the world’s premier space power.”

The report notes China’s operational satellite fleet exceeded 1,060 by mid-2025, with hundreds dedicated to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has signaled U.S. resolve on this front. During the opening keynote at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in March 2025, he made U.S. intentions clear to allies and adversaries alike, declaring, “The Space Force will do whatever it takes to achieve space superiority.”

The April 2025 release of “Space Warfighting: A Framework for Planners” codifies the service’s shift from primarily supportive roles to treating space as a contested warfighting domain, openly emphasizing offensive and defensive counter-space operations alongside traditional enabling capabilities.

In the document’s foreword, Saltzman writes that space superiority “unlocks superiority in other domains, fuels Coalition lethality, and fortifies troop survivability. It is therefore the basis from which the Joint Force projects power, deters aggression, and secures the homeland.”

‘Race to resilience’

Current core U.S. military space capabilities remain foundational but increasingly vulnerable.

Missile warning and tracking systems, such as the Space-Based Infrared System and emerging Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites, provide global detection of ballistic and hypersonic launches, often within seconds of ignition. This capability is supplemented by proliferated low-Earth orbit sensors, including the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 3 tracking layer, a $3.5 billion investment awarded in late 2025 for 72 new satellites planned for launch beginning in 2029.

Protected satellite communication and positioning, navigation and timing networks, including the jam-resistant Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation and military GPS featuring enhanced anti-jam M-code, ensure resilient command and control in degraded environments.

Space domain awareness tools, such as the maneuverable Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites, operate in near-geosynchronous orbit to conduct close inspections of objects. Upgraded ground-based sensors, including the Ground-Based Optical Sensor System, track orbital objects and potential threats.

While robust, these systems are vulnerable to attacks such as signal jamming, sensor dazzling by directed-energy weapons and cyberattacks — reversible threats that U.S. officials report occur daily or near-daily. U.S. officials note that even temporary disruptions could significantly impair critical joint operations in wartime.

These challenges are driving the service’s “Race to Resilience” initiative, which aims to achieve battle-ready architectures by 2026. Several key milestones in the coming year will advance the Space Force’s readiness in these contested environments.

Boost-phase space-based interceptor prototypes, a proposed weapon system designed to destroy enemy ballistic missiles during the boost phase of their flight, were awarded under competitive contracts for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative in November 2025. Kinetic midcourse awards (hit-to-kill interceptors during the missile’s coasting phase) are expected in February 2026.

Speaking shortly after his appointment at the Space Foundation’s Innovate Space: Global Economic Summit in July 2025, program lead Gen. Michael Guetlein shared his optimism for the program, stating, “I firmly believe that the technology we need to deliver Golden Dome exists today,” highlighting the importance of integrated command and control.

The service will also finalize requirements for the Space Warfighter Operational Readiness Domain, a distributed digital training environment that builds on existing Space Flag exercises, enabling guardians across multiple locations to participate in virtual simulations of contested operations.

Four on-orbit servicing demonstrations are planned for 2026 to test satellite refueling, repair, inspection and maneuvering. These capabilities are essential for maintaining dynamic space operations, extending the lifespan of assets and enhancing resilience in these contested environments. These missions, funded by various DOD entities and commercial partners, mark a key step toward proving the viability of in-space logistics.

Additionally, the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve will transition from pilot phase to full-scale operations in 2026, targeting 20 contracts by year-end to provide wartime access to commercial satcom networks. This resiliency measure is backed by record fiscal 2026 funding approaching $40 billion, reflecting priorities for hybrid military-commercial architectures.

With threats intensifying, including China’s rapid satellite expansion and Russia’s disruptive capabilities, 2026 positions the Space Force to deliver resilient architectures that ensure U.S. space superiority, enabling joint forces to maintain the edge in any conflict or contested environment.

“The desired outcome is to develop and integrate high-G propulsion systems, advanced seekers, and low-SWaP [size, weight and power] interceptors integrated into space vehicles for … SBI [space-based interceptor] architectures that support fast detection-to-intercept timelines,” stated the SBIR solicitation, which opens Jan. 7 and closes Jan. 28.

Space-based interceptors are a key component of the Trump administration’s massive Golden Dome program for missile defense of the United States. Earlier this month, the Space Force released a Request for Proposal for space-based midcourse interceptors that would target missiles as they coast in space in between launch and reentering the atmosphere. Boost-phase interceptors seek to destroy missiles during their slower, more vulnerable ascent as the rockets gathers speed after launch.

The Space Force recently awarded a few small contracts for prototype space-based boost-phase interceptors. But the SBIR suggests that the service is also eager for research into advanced interceptors. The problem with existing antimissile interceptors is that they are too big and expensive, according to the SBIR.

“Current state-of-the-art interceptors demonstrate high performance but are significantly larger and not optimized for rapid deployment or distributed constellations,” the SBIR said. “Proposed solutions should demonstrate how comparable or greater performance can be achieved in a significantly smaller package.”

The Space Force envisions boost-phase interceptors that can hit missiles at an altitude of less than 120 kilometers, or about 75 miles or less, above the Earth’s surface. Intercept time should be less than 180 seconds.

Propulsion for the new interceptor should enable high thrust, plus rapid acceleration of at least 6 kilometers, or at least nearly 4 miles, per second.

“Desired characteristics include dual-pulse or throttleable motors, high-grain solid or hybrid propellants, and thrust vector control,” the SBIR specified.

Other features include fast shutdown and reignition of the rocket motors, and improved specific impulse for more efficient thrust.

The service also wants to increase the probability of a kill by fitting the interceptors with multiple sensors.

The interceptors should also be small, easy to manufacture at scale and capable of being fired from constellations of orbital launch platforms that would allow continuous coverage over specific terrestrial regions below. Because they will be descending rapidly from space into the atmosphere, they will also need strong thermal protection.

“Successful solutions will also consider survivability under extreme conditions experienced during atmospheric re-entry including the extreme temperatures from aero-thermal heating,” the Space Force noted.

These are formidable requirements, according to Patrycja Bazylczyk, associate director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

“Taking out a missile as it boosts is a tall order,” Bazylczyk told Defense News. “The compressed timeline for detection, tracking, decision-making and interception makes boost-phase defense one of the toughest technical challenges in missile defense.”

Nonetheless, Bazylczyk believes the concept is feasible.

“The technology for space-based intercept exists — the primary challenges are cost, the operational concept and the ability to scale,” she said. “Significant reductions in satellite launch expenses, coupled with advances in electronic miniaturization, have the potential to substantially lower the overall cost of fielding a constellation.”

Phase I of the project calls for companies to submit concepts, followed by Phase II prototypes. Phase III includes adapting the technology to support the other military services with missile defense or high-speed intercept needs.

In addition, the Space Force sees the project leading to “commercial applications for high-performance propulsion, compact sensor suites, or integrated aerospace systems in areas such as hypersonics testing, responsive launch, atmospheric sensing, or high-speed autonomous systems,” according to the SBIR.

The plan is to deploy a satellite fleet with interconnected communications for defense use by 2029, with Germany’s Hensoldt providing sensor technology and German startup Isar Aerospace the preferred launch parter. Kongsberg and Helsing signed their teaming agreement to speed up the roll out of critical European space capabilities, the companies said.

European leaders increasingly see their dependency on American space-based intelligence as a strategic liability, with the U.S. halt on data sharing with Ukraine earlier this year setting off alarm bells across the continent. Finland’s ICEYE has been one of the most visible beneficiaries, selling at least eight radar satellites this year to European countries seeking a sovereign space capability.

“Sovereign monitoring, intelligence, and targeting are fundamental to credible deterrence,” Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace President Eirik Lie said in the statement. “Communication, oversight and connectivity are key to operate defense assets effectively, and Europe needs full control over these capabilities.”

The cooperation is a response to Europe’s greater need for deterrence and addresses the strategic issue of space-based intelligence, Kongsberg and Helsing said, with the companies citing “key lessons from recent geopolitical events.”

Kongsberg wasn’t immediately able to answer questions on the required investment or how many satellites are planned for the constellation, which countries the partnership is targeting, or who would own the satellites.

The teaming agreement combines Kongsberg’s satellites with Helsing’s artificial-intelligence capabilities, pulling together synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and radio-frequency data for satellite-image analysis, they said. The companies said they have operational experience in Ukraine, with Helsing AI algorithms used there as well as deployed in orbit for data analysis.

“The war in Ukraine demonstrates that most reliable targeting begins in space,” Helsing co-Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Gundbert Scherf said. “Together with Kongsberg, we will provide crucial integrated space defense systems to ensure Europe wins the fight for sovereignty.”

Hensoldt will provide SAR, electro-optical/infrared and electronic warfare sensors, while Kongsberg Satellite Services will contribute with its ground network to communicate with satellites.

The cooperation will include setting up local satellite production in Germany to create “a self-reliant European defense capability,” the companies said.

With Norway’s satellite expertise and Hensoldt’s sensors, “we can build a resilient space architecture that gives Europe the information advantage it needs,” Hensoldt Chief Executive Officer Oliver Dörre said. “Europe’s security depends on sovereign sensing and intelligence.”

European interest in ICEYE rose after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. But it was the U.S. halting intelligence sharing with Ukraine in March 2025 that really underscored the need for sovereign access to space-based intel, Elstak told Defense News.

“The key thing it proved is that you need independent capabilities, and you need a strong alliance,” he said. “You can’t rely on just one node, whoever that node may be.”

Space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, was seen as the toughest area for Europe to achieve self-sufficiency, according to a Defense News survey in February. Most of the surveyed defense experts estimated Europe would need five to 10 years to build sufficient capacity to no longer rely on U.S. space intel.

Since then, and following the U.S. data-sharing pause, ICEYE has signed contracts with the armed forces of Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Finland. All four will have their own deployed capabilities within the next 12 months, with multiple satellites in orbit before 2028, Elstak said.

Europe can achieve “resilience” in space-based ISR, he argued, citing the Dutch example. ICEYE launched the first satellite for the Royal Netherlands Air Force within four months of the June contract, and all four ordered spacecraft are expected to be operational within 24 months.

“So it is within reach, right?” said Elstak.

ICEYE has provided radar-satellite data to Ukraine since 2022, including during the U.S. intel-sharing halt. Experience supplying Ukraine helped the company refine its offering for defense users, said Elstak, who joined the Finnish company in 2023 from Airbus.

As ICEYE adds military customers and becomes more integrated into Europe’s defense-information flows, “we’re becoming more and more of a defense-intelligence company,” Elstak said.

He said ICEYE’s ability to deliver everything from satellites to ground stations, data analysis and training positions it closer to a large space integrator such as Airbus than SAR-data providers Capella Space and Umbra.

Founded in 2014 as a Finnish university spin-off, ICEYE supplies Earth-observation data using synthetic aperture radar, or SAR for short. Because SAR can collect imagery regardless of cloud cover or time of day, any space-based ISR solution is bound to have a “SAR backbone,” Elstak said.

The firm operates what it describes as the world’s largest SAR constellation, with 20 to 30 active satellites, according to Elstak. This allows ICEYE to provide a radar image from any location roughly every 30 to 60 minutes, unrestricted by U.S. export regulations, which the executive called “quite a unique proposition” for the price.

Through its Missions business, governments can buy ICEYE radar satellites and operate them independently. Between five and 10 sovereign satellites are currently in orbit, with at least another 10 to 15 to be launched in the next two years, according to Elstak.

Almost all sovereign customers are also data clients, according to Elstak. He said military customers want their own minimum national capability, but are then happy to procure additional commercial data from ICEYE through credits or leased capacity.

Elstak declined to discuss pricing but referred to ICEYE’s contract with Poland for a reference. In May, the company agreed to provide Poland with an initial batch of three SAR satellites, with an option for three more, under an agreement worth around €200 million.

Elstak said an ICEYE constellation is far cheaper than previous generations of SAR systems, such as Germany’s SARah constellation, which cost around €1 billion for three satellites.

The company in September introduced ISR Cell, a containerized system that gives ground forces tactical access to space-based ISR, aiming to get satellite intel to the battlefield within minutes. First customer deliveries are expected in early 2026.

ICEYE also announced commercial availability of its fourth generation of SAR satellites, with a larger radar antenna for higher-resolution imagery.

A major focus is cutting the time from sensor to shooter. That means getting more satellites in orbit, improving algorithms to compress and transmit data, and using AI-based analytics “to make sure the user actually gets the data that they want,” Elstak said. “Maybe an uglier image in half an hour is more valuable than a pretty image in an hour.”

ICEYE has agreements with SATIM and SafranAI, which provide AI-based analysis of the radar-satellite data to identify objects including vessels and vehicles.

The company is developing concepts including a constellation of more than 100 satellites, which would enable “a look anywhere in the world in like 10 or 15 minutes,” Elstak said. “It becomes very tactical.”

Experience from Ukraine and ICEYE’s expanding fleet shows users want as much information as possible from hot spots, he added. The firm is improving its ability to deliver detail in congested areas through new image-processing techniques and the larger radar on the Gen4 satellites.

ICEYE currently has capacity to build 25 radar satellites per year and plans to scale up “quite fast” to around 40 satellites annually by late 2026, and probably 50 spacecraft a year in a next step, Elstak said. The company set up a manufacturing joint venture with Rheinmetall in Germany earlier this month that will manufacture its first satellite locally in 2026.

ICEYE has been using SpaceX for launches but is exploring alternatives, with slots booked on the Vega launcher operated by ArianeGroup, and is “very interested” in European small-launcher startups as part of a fully sovereign solution, according to Elstak.

For now, however, the urgency among sovereign customers to acquire capacity means they will “typically take whatever is available” to get satellites into orbit, the executive said.

Most of ICEYE’s defense customers previously lacked space-intelligence capabilities, but countries now understand what they need to own and what they can rely on from commercial providers during a crisis, according to Elstak.

“Even if the war were to stop, there’s a general realization of what type of capabilities you must have at a national level. This is not going to go away in the military doctrine.”

Developed by a consortium of Finnish manufacturer ICEYE and Wojskowe Zakłady Łączności No 1, an offshoot of Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ, the national satellite reconnaissance system will be the first component of the military space capabilities Warsaw aims to field in the coming years, defense officials said.

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is to be deployed into low Earth orbit onboard the next Transporter-15 mission by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was initially scheduled for Nov. 11 in what would mark Poland’s Independence Day. The deployment has been postponed and is currently scheduled for Nov. 19.

The initiative is part of Poland’s efforts to ramp up its military reconnaissance capacities amid an ongoing Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

“We are developing today a very important capacity for the Polish military, a capacity that the military has not had to date,” Polish Deputy National Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said during a Nov. 13 event devoted to the project in Warsaw. “We are developing the capacities of targeting, and … we are joining a group of countries that have such capacities.”

Under the contract the Polish Ministry of National Defence signed with the manufacturer consortium last May, the country’s military is to receive at least three satellites under the MikroSAR program, with an option to acquire a further three spacecraft. The initial deal is worth around PLN 860 million ($237 million).

In his remarks, Tomczyk said the war in Ukraine has sparked a major push for Poland to accelerate its military space program.

“When [Ukraine’s] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Finland, we held meetings with a very narrow group of persons, among others with the CEO of ICEYE who is with us here today. This shows the importance of not only the company, but also the capacities related to satellite reconnaissance,” according to the deputy minister.

Rafał Modrzewski, the CEO and co-founder of ICEYE, said at the event that, with the first SAR satellite’s forthcoming deployment, the Polish military “will have access to its own reconnaissance system that will allow to capture any images it desires with a resolution of 25 centimeters”.

The Finnish company’s partnership with PGZ, the dominant player in Poland’s defense sector, marks another collaboration between ICEYE and a major European industry player.

In May 2025, the company teamed up with Germany’s Rheinmetall, setting up a joint venture devoted to satellite manufacturing with an initial focus on SAR satellites. The new entity, named Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions, is jointly owned by Rheinmetall, which holds 60% of the shares, and ICEYE, which owns the remaining 40% stake.

With Poland’s military satellite projects moving forward, last year, the country created a new military institution, the Geospatial Intelligence and Satellite Services Agency. The organization will be responsible for processing the data collected by the military satellite fleet and providing related services to the armed forces.

“From a military user’s point of view, what is most important here is the services that a user receives from space, such as satellite navigation, satellite imaging of Earth’s surface, satellite radio reconnaissance, and satellite communications,” Col. Leszek Paszkowski, the agency’s head, said at the event.

The military official stated that, according to Poland’s defense strategy, the designed satellite fleet will serve as the “eyes” guiding the country’s military in how it strikes enemy forces.

“It is worth emphasizing that satellite technologies are the only ones that enable so-called deep, precise strikes that, in our doctrine, are the main element of the deterrence policy directed against the potential opponent,” he said.

In the meantime, the Polish military is awaiting the deployment of two observation satellites the government ordered from French company Airbus in December 2022.

The spacecraft are to be launched into space by 2027. Under the operational plan, the spy satellites are to increase the capacities of Poland’s armed forces in the field of reconnaissance data, operating as part of a French-Polish constellation. The net value of the contract is about €575 million ($669 million), according to data from the ministry.

But if you need JTACs to call in air strikes, and space-based weapons are becoming a reality, then don’t you also need specialists to call in space strikes? That’s why there should be Space Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, or SJTACs, argue two experts.

For example, “the space JTAC would connect tactical, on-the-ground SOF [special operations forces] units with space assets for targeting adversary military airbases, critical infrastructure, and more complex targets, such as Russian floating nuclear power plants,” wrote retired U.S. Army colonel Kevin Stringer and Marius Kristiansen, a Norwegian Army officer, in a July essay for the Irregular Warfare Initiative website.

Unlike space personnel already assigned theater special operations commands, SJTACs would embed with special operations tactical units, the essay suggests. They would “enable the assessment of vulnerabilities, ensuring precision in any potential attack, as well as monitoring target activities, tracking movements, and providing real-time situational awareness for preemptive strikes or future sabotage missions,” Stringer and Kristiansen wrote.

SJTACs are needed to coordinate the advent of space-based weapons that paint a future where orbital bombardment of ground targets is the norm, the pair argues.

“As space capabilities develop from science fiction to reality, the SJTAC could access future space weaponry ranging from lasers, electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons, to the currently theoretical ‘Rods from God’ kinetic bombardment concept,” Stringer and Kristiansen wrote.

Just as JTACs are needed to target airstrikes and avoid hitting friendly forces, SJTACs would perform the same role for space.

“For normal airstrikes, an infantry scout or aviation aeroscout can call them in during an emergency,” Stringer told Defense News. “But the margin of error grows with a generalist doing infrequent specialist activities. A JTAC is a professional who focuses on this task. The SJTAC would be similar.”

There has long been an intimate link between space and special operations forces. The “Cyber-Space-SOF” triad is seen as a strategic capability, while U.S. Space Force is now standing up its own special operations component as part of U.S. Special Operations Command (SJTACs would belong to that Space Force component).

“Combined with space and cyber capabilities, SOF can access satellite communications, space-based reconnaissance, and cyber tools to disrupt enemy activities while maintaining a low signature,” the essay explained.

One question is redundancy. Rather than having separate SJTACs, would it be simpler to offer additional training in space capabilities to existing JTACs? Such training could be added to the Army-run Special Operations Terminal Attack Control Course, or SOTACC, which certifies JTACs. Or, the space role could be handed to Air Force combat controllers.

Stringer and Kristiansen disagree. In their view, SJTAC critics “overlook the fact that with space defined as a separate warfighting domain from the air, and with the creation of U.S. Space Force as a separate service, organizational logic and the development of deep space expertise necessitate a division of labor that would place the SJTAC function firmly within the Space Force sphere of responsibility.”

Separate STACs “would also avoid the inefficiency of having SOF from each service — Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines — develop their own SJTAC capabilities," the essay argues.

SJTACs would also be useful for coordinating U.S. space capabilities with NATO and other allies, Stringer and Kristiansen wrote.

“Given that not all NATO countries have space assets, and the planning assumption is that NATO SOF formations will operate in a combined fashion, a space JTAC becomes a critical linkage for allied interoperability,” the essay suggested.

Ultimately, if the special operations community wants to play a role in space-based capabilities, it will need to have its own space specialists, Stringer argues.

“Without this function, SOF will not be able to access the developing space capabilities nor be involved in their development and experimentation,” Stringer told Defense News.

“The combination is expected to generate mid triple-digit million-euro of total annual synergies on operating income five years after closing,” the firms added.

The new company, which has been in the pipeline for months, aims at boosting “Europe’s strategic autonomy in space, a major sector that underpins critical infrastructure and services related to telecommunications, global navigation, earth observation, science, exploration and national security,” the firms stated.

“This new company also intends to serve as the trusted partner for developing and implementing national sovereign space programs,” they added.

The firm should be operational by 2027, they said.

Airbus will take a 35% stake with Leonardo and Thales each taking a 32.5% stake, while the firm will operate “under joint control, with a balanced governance structure among shareholders,” the firms said.

Executives including Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani have spoken of the need for Europe’s space businesses to come together in the same way Airbus, Leonardo and BAE Systems have merged their missile activities in MBDA.

Airbus will insert its Space Systems and Space Digital businesses into the new firm, while Leonardo will contribute its Space Division, including its shares in Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space. Thales will contribute with stakes in Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and Thales SESO.

Europe’s space businesses have long planned to ally after struggling to keep up with fierce competition from Elon Musk’s Starlink. But industry mergers have also faced opposition from European Union anti-trust officials who fear a concentration of power in the industry could stifle competition on the continent.

In their statement the firms said it was time for Europe to bulk up to take on competition from overseas. The new company, they said, would “Increase competitiveness facing global players, reaching critical mass and ensuring Europe secures its role as a major player in the international space market.”

Leonardo’s Cingolani, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Thales CEO Patrice Caine, added, “This partnership aligns with the ambitions of European governments to strengthen their industrial and technological assets, ensuring Europe’s autonomy across the strategic space domain and its many applications.”

“They are bringing on capability, I won’t say daily, but at least monthly, that puts our assets at risk,” Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, the commander of U.S. Space Forces-Space, told reporters at the annual Air & Space Forces Association conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Wednesday.

“China is definitely our biggest threat,” he said.

According to Schiess, the Chinese are building a “kill chain,” or attack process, for targeting U.S. maritime, land and air forces “at greater distances than we’ve ever seen.”

“They’re using space to be able to make those distances even greater,” Schiess explained. “On top of that, they are adding counter-space capabilities that then put our assets at risk.”

Space Force intelligence suggests the Chinese military likely views counter-space operations as a way to deter and counter U.S. military intervention in a regional conflict.

Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said China’s operations in space are among its “most concerning” military activities.

“It’s the ultimate high ground. Space strengthens our intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance [ISR] and targeting capabilities. In other words, it’s our best eyes and ears. And if our adversaries can have better ISR and can have better space-based ISR and targeting capabilities than we do, and deprive us of that high ground, then that is very, very dangerous,” he told Military Times on Thursday.

Should the Chinese military be able to destroy or outperform U.S. space-based capabilities, Bowman said that would lead to fewer early warnings about threats and more difficult combat engagements.

“And when you aggregate that, that can result in a lost battle or war,” Bowman said.

Schiess said the U.S. military must continue to put up more satellites, including ISR satellites, to protect its forces.

According to the most recent space threat fact sheet published by Space Force intelligence, China had more than 1,189 satellites in orbit as of July 2025, representing an on-orbit increase of about 927% since the end of 2015.

More than 500 of those are ISR-capable satellites with optical, multispectral, radar, and radio frequency sensors, which the Space Force says increases China’s ability to detect U.S. aircraft carriers, expeditionary forces and air wings.

Pistorius made the announcement in a speech at the German industry’s third Space Congress, held in Berlin on Thursday.

“Satellite networks today are an Achilles heel of modern societies. Whoever attacks them paralyzes entire nations,” Pistorius said. He pointed to the Russian cyberattack on the ViaSat satellite network before the Ukraine invasion, which affected the operational control of approximately 6,000 wind turbines in Germany, he said.

Pistorius outlined plans for a comprehensive military space security architecture, including hardened systems against attacks, improved orbital surveillance through radars and telescopes, future “guardian satellites,” and Germany’s own military satellite operations center within the Bundeswehr’s Space Command. The command was created in 2021 under the umbrella of the country’s air force.

Pistorius singled out Russia and China as potential space opponents, saying two Russian Luch-Olymp reconnaissance satellites were tracking two Intelsat satellites used by the Bundeswehr. He questioned “the purely peaceful nature” of such behavior and emphasized how close Germany has come to “real threat scenarios.”

“Russia’s behavior, especially in space, poses a fundamental threat to us all. It is a threat that we can no longer ignore,” Pistorius said.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which 117 countries have ratified, including all major spacefaring nations, prohibits placing weapons of mass destruction into orbit and stipulates that celestial bodies may be used “exclusively for peaceful purposes.”

A notable policy shift emerged from the remarks, too, with Pistorius stating that Germany must consider developing offensive capabilities in space to maintain credible deterrence. This marks a departure from Germany’s prior space policies, which had been explicitly defensive. “We must also be able to deter in space in order to be defensible,” he declared.

Germany’s space defense investment comes amid broader increases in its military budget. With recent boosts to military funding, Germany is already fourth globally in terms of defense expenditures, behind the U.S., China and Russia.

“The rule-based international order in space is nearly over,” said Brig. Gen. Jürgen Schrödl, a division head with responsibility for space at the German Ministry of Defence’s strategy and operations department. “We have to accept that space is a tested domain, is a war-fighting domain, is becoming a war-fighting domain.”

The language is a step up from more diplomatic assessments at the summit last year, when military space leaders discussed growing threats to in-orbit assets, without going as far as describing space as a potential war zone or battlefield.

Global governments in the past two years spent more of their space budgets on defense than on civil space, according to data from summit organizer Novaspace.

Of the $73.1 billion in global government spending on space defense and security in 2024, more than a third was classified, the consultancy says.

“What you see is that it is now the military domain that is leading,” Hermann Ludwig Moeller, director of the European Space Policy Institute, told Defense News at the conference. “This is really clear compared to last year, the language and what is behind the language has shifted.”

More than 200 anti-satellite weapons now circle Earth in different orbits, said Brig. Gen. Christopher Horner, commander of 3 Canadian Space Division. While he didn’t provide details on their nature, he said that is a “shocking number of capabilities” to threaten allied space capabilities including satellite comms to Earth observation.

While hostile action in space is not new, “things are accelerating very fast,” said Maj. Gen. Vincent Chusseau, commander of French Space Command since August. “Space is a really full operational domain, we talk about war fighting in space.”

Chusseau said Russia has a full range of capabilities from satellites for rendezvous and proximity operations and orbiters that pack smaller satellites like a Russian doll, to anti-satellite missiles, electronic warfare, laser dazzling and cyber attacks.

Meanwhile, China is accelerating its space activities to achieve superiority there, according to Maj. Gen. Isaac Manuel Crespo Zaragoza, space commander for the Spanish Air and Space Force.

China was the second-biggest spender on space defense and security in 2024 with $9.3 billion, according to Novaspace data, compared with $53.1 billion spent by the United States. Russia spent $2.3 billion and France $2.1 billion, with Germany trailing in eight position with space defense and security spend of $655 million.

The big change is Germany “finally realized” that space is a war-fighting domain, said Maj. Gen. Michael Traut, commander of the German Space Command.

“Space becomes more and more tactical because technology is there, kill chains need to be faster,” the German commander said. “And if we talk about kill chains, we talk about seconds and minutes, not about creating an informational background for strategic decisions any more.”

Traut provided the example of integrated missile defense, which wouldn’t be as effective without pre-warning and cueing of systems from space.

The German military will design a military space-defense architecture by the end of this year that will be an enabler for multi-domain operations, said the German space commander. The first step will be a “multifunctional, multi-orbit constellation” to be completed in 2029, as well as the associated ground-based infrastructure.

There will be a need for a common space doctrine, for example how to protect allied assets or counter adversarial offensive action, according to Traut. That’s an operational implication that’s arisen in the past one to two years, he said.

“This is still an open issue for us, to develop a common space doctrine,” Traut said. “How do we operate? Who’s going to decide, in what case. and how do we manage our space battles.”

Horner said that while the narrative is changing in Canada, “we are not quite at a place where I can say publicly that space is a war-fighting domain,” joking that his policy officer in the audience was cringing “as I dance around that language.”

Nevertheless, changing language allows to open up the discussion of future defense strategies, including the need to take offensive and defensive action in space to protect critical infrastructure, Horner said. “None of those were conversations that were truly happening a year ago.”

“Beyond the big strategic programs and projects that are underway, how do we maintain a war-fighting edge or decisional advantage when the fight begins?” Horner asked. “And how do we replace capabilities quickly?”

Rather than “giant school bus-sized things” in geostationary orbit, the answers might be “tactically responsive capabilities that allow us to maintain a war fighting advantage,” Horner said. “How do we respond with some immediacy so that we can launch a tactical capability in 96 hours?”

Germany’s Schrödl said responsive launch and being able to “very quickly” bring new satellites into space when they are degraded also has a deterrence role.

He said that at a tactical level, Germany is seeing “a lot of incidents” happening with its satellites, and is observing intentional disturbance by Russia both from the ground and from space, including a lot of temporarily dazzling of observation and reconnaissance satellites.

NATO forces face an asymmetry in the cost of their space assets, with some offensive capabilities being “much cheaper,” said Lt. Gen. Bertrand Le Meur, head of the directorate for defense strategy, counter proliferation and strategic foresight at the French Armed Forces Ministry.

“My guess is that in the coming years we will see many nations being able to develop those capabilities because space is becoming available,” Le Meur said.

“Our space assets are kind of a honeypot, something very expensive, very exquisite,” Le Meur said. “So the figures globally are against us.”

In addition to functional space capabilities that have been used by armed forces for decades, such as Earth observation and communications, there is now a need for operational capabilities “in and for space,” to protect those functional capabilities, according to Germany’s Traut.

“And those operational capabilities consist of defensive and offensive means,” Traut said. “I can repeat that officially. Defensive and offensive means, shield and sword.”

The 21 satellites, all built by York Space Systems, flew on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The spacecraft are part of SDA’s Transport Layer, designed to provide fast, secure communication capability to military operators.

The launch represents a new phase for SDA, which since 2019 has been crafting plans for a large constellation of government-owned missile tracking and data transport satellites in low Earth orbit. Its first spacecraft, Tranche 0, launched in 2023 and 2024 and have been used to demonstrate capabilities like laser communication between satellites, with the ground and recently between a commercial partner’s satellite and an SDA terminal installed on an aircraft in flight.

Once on orbit, the Tranche 1 satellites launched today will build on that work. Following initial payload health and safety checks, the spacecraft could start providing operational capability to combatant commands and other users within four to six months, according to acting SDA Director Gurpartap Sandhoo.

“This is the first time we’ll be able to start working with our COCOMs, our joint force to start integrating space into their operations and getting the warfighters used to using space from this construct,” Sandhoo told reporters prior to the launch. “This is the first time we’ll have the space layer fully integrated into our warfare operations.”

SDA’s first user group, whom Sandhoo called “early adopters,” includes military operators in the Indo-Pacific. This initial work is key, he added, to familiarize the services and combatant commands with the capability SDA can provide.

“Doing the warfighter immersion is going to be critical because they have to get trained on this and we have to provide this capability,” Sandhoo said. “That’s what Tranche 1 will start doing.”

Tranche 1 will include 154 satellites — 126 for the Transport Layer and 28 for the Tracking Layer. The first 21 spacecraft will bring a limited coverage and capacity, but that will increase over time as more reach orbit.

Starting with today’s launch, SDA plans to fly a new batch of Tranche 1 satellites each month for 10 months, with six of those missions carrying transport spacecraft and four flying missile warning and tracking satellites. The first few launches will be dedicated transport missions, but Sandhoo said tracking satellites will start to fly early next year.

The next mission is slated for mid-October and will feature satellites built by Lockheed Martin.

By the end of Tranche 1, Sandhoo said, SDA hopes to be providing regional capacity. Tranche 2, scheduled to start launching in late 2026, will further expand the constellation’s reach.

The agency is making headway on future missile tracking capabilities beyond Tranche 2 — which could provide essential support for the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile shield — but the longer-term future of the Transport Layer is uncertain. The effort is fully funded through Tranche Two, but the Space Force has paused work on Tranche 3 amid an ongoing study considering whether the constellation is the best solution to meet the U.S. military’s data transport needs.

Sandhoo said the stalled funding will delay SDA’s plans to expand from regional to global transport coverage.

Meanwhile, Republican members of Congress from Alabama, who stood beside Trump during an Oval Office announcement, insisted it was former President Joe Biden who politicized the basing process.

“This delegation has worked together, both chambers, both parties, to make sure that Huntsville was the place that Space Command called home,” Sen. Katie Britt said during the event. “Obviously, the Biden administration chose to make this political.”

The announcement is just the latest development in a yearslong back and forth about which of the two states should host the the military command, which is charged with operating the Defense Department’s space assets.

The headquarters has been provisionally based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, since 2019. In 2021, just as Trump was leaving office at the end of his first term, the White House announced Huntsville, Alabama, as its pick for the headquarters.

The decision sparked pushback from Colorado lawmakers, largely led by former Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who called the Air Force’s selection process “fundamentally flawed.” A series of Government Accountability Office and DOD Inspector General reports followed, identifying issues with transparency and credibility in the Air Force’s basing process but concluded that the service followed the law in choosing Alabama.

Despite the conclusion of the watchdog investigations — and then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s support for relocating the command to Huntsville due to estimates that the move would save DOD $426 million — the White House announced in July 2023 that it had abandoned the first Trump administration’s decision and that Space Command would remain in Colorado.

Trump’s announcement that he would revert to his earlier, 2021 decision to base the command’s headquarters in Alabama was widely expected. However, his insistence Tuesday that the move was closely linked to Colorado’s embrace of mail-in voting — a major concern for the president — was not previously publicly identified as part of his administration’s justification.

More than once during the briefing he called Colorado’s policy of allowing voters to submit ballots by mail as “crooked” and claimed it influenced his decision.

“When the state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump said. “That played a big factor.”

As president, Trump has been forward leaning on space policy. During his first term in 2019 he created the U.S. Space Force and reestablished Space Command as the 11th combatant command.

Later in the briefing, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL, indicated the new command would be named the “Donald J. Trump Space Command Center.”

The Space Force and Space Command deferred questions about the claim to Tuberville’s office. A spokesman for the senator said he “is exploring avenues to make that the official name.”

“Sen. Tuberville believes that naming U.S. Space Command headquarters after the guy who created Space Force and has brought Space Command back to life is more than appropriate,” the spokesperson told Defense News in an email.

The successful proof-of-concept demonstration took place in July between a General Atomics Electromagnetics optical communications terminal that was mounted to an aircraft and a commercial satellite operated by Kepler Communications in an orbit around 311 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth. While SDA has shown several times it can connect satellites from its initial data transport constellation, or tranche, the airborne link up was a first.

“Now it becomes an effort to fold this into actual tranches where we can operationalize this,” Nathan Getz, director of SDA’s Data Transport Cell, told Defense News in a recent interview.

The communications capability is an integral part of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA. The laser communications links and optical terminals allow satellites to pass data amongst themselves, with users on the ground and with aircraft and other systems. The goal is much faster, higher-volume data transmissions than traditional systems, which rely on radio frequency beams and in-demand spectrum access to send information.

Along with demonstrating the link between those satellites and General Atomics’ airborne terminal, the experiment proved the ability to make a connection between two optical communication terminals, or OCTs, built by different firms — crucial for SDA, which is relying on a mix of commercial vendors and more traditional defense contractors to build out its architecture. The agency has established an open OCT standard to help with that compatibility.

“This demonstration not just achieved the milestone for SDA-compatible communications across the air and space domains, but very importantly proved the robustness of the SDA standard for communications between OCT’s built by two different companies,” Gregg Burgess, vice president of GA-EMS’ Space Systems division, said in a statement.

SDA is on a path to launch hundreds of data transport and missile tracking satellites in the coming years as part of the PWSA through an incremental development and fielding approach. It’s partnering closely with companies offering proven technology and is delivering capability in batches, also known as tranches, that can be replaced or augmented every two years or so with new, more advanced spacecraft.

The agency began launching its first satellites, dubbed Tranche 0, in April 2023, and the next batch, Tranche 1, is slated to start flying later this month. Together, the two tranches are meant to prove out SDA’s iterative development approach.

The successful air-to-space demonstration was part of an ongoing experimentation campaign involving both SDA Tranche 0 satellites as well as commercial spacecraft. That work contributed to significant progress earlier this spring on space-to-ground connections between SDA and commercial satellites and ground terminals. Since achieving its first successful space-to-air connect in July, Getz said, SDA has repeated the experiment several times.

“It’s become, I don’t want to say routine, but now every time we go up, we’re pretty much connecting, we’re exchanging data, gigabits of data,” according to Getz. “It’s a lot of expertise on the industry side as well as SDA. We kind of built this cookbook of how you make this work, and now we’re seeing some success.”

The demonstration comes as agencies both internal and external to the Defense Department are closely watching for proof that SDA’s development approach and operational concept are the best option for the military.

The Space Force this summer revealed it is evaluating additional options for proliferated satellite communications, including a separate space-based network called MILNET, which is so far relying largely on the SpaceX’s Starshield for satellites, terminals and operations support.

In February, the Government Accountability Office released a report that called into question whether SDA’s go-fast strategy was causing it to bypass key capability development milestones. The analysis recommended the agency hold off on launching its Tranche 1 satellites until it demonstrated required laser communications capabilities with the Tranche 0 spacecraft already in orbit.

GAO found that while SDA at that time had made progress in some areas — like developing an optical terminal standard, testing the capability in a lab and maturing some of the enabling technologies — it hadn’t been able to validate the technology on orbit as fast as it had hoped.

According to Getz, SDA has made “night and day” progress since the release of that report. At the time, he said, the agency was “on the steep part of the learning curve.” Since February, Getz said, SDA has learned a lot about the technology and its use on the Tranche 0 satellites.

“We’re using the SDA satellites constantly, not only for what I’m talking to you about — space-to-air, space-to-ground — but also space-to-space,” he said. “It’s ongoing all the time. There are contacts being scheduled. It’s getting more automated. So, it’s a little bit like a snowballing effect where it takes a little while to get going and then things start speeding up.”

Up next for SDA is to continue expanding the envelope of its experimentation and using what it’s learned to inform future satellite development and operations, Getz said.

While the initial space-to-air connect involved a commercial satellite, Getz said SDA is working toward demonstrating the capability with its Tranche 0 satellites, which are located around 621 miles (1,000 kilometers).

SDA is also planning more work with commercial firms whose terminals comply with SDA’s standards.

“We’re using our own satellites, we’re also working with commercial partners here to bring capabilities and advance capabilities,” he said. “A major message here is that SDA does both and that there is a pretty robust industry response to SDA and the SDA ecosystem. As we build out the tranches, we’re also looking to leverage commercial capabilities.”

Trump is expected to speak Tuesday afternoon, and he will give the new location, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to confirm the plans ahead of the official announcement. A Pentagon website set up to livestream the remarks describes the event as a “U.S. Space Command HQ Announcement.”

“The president will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Space Command’s functions include conducting operations like enabling satellite-based navigation and troop communication and providing warning of missile launches.

Alabama and Colorado have long battled to claim Space Command because it has significant implications for the local economy. The site also has been a political prize, with elected officials from both Alabama and Colorado asserting their state is the better location.

Huntsville, Alabama, nicknamed Rocket City, has long been home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command is also located in Huntsville, which drew its nickname because of its role in building the first rockets for the U.S. space program.

The announcement caps a four-year back-and-forth on the location of Space Command.

The Air Force in 2021 identified Army Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the preferred location for the new U.S. Space Command. The city was picked after site visits to six states that compared factors such as infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Defense Department.

Then-President Joe Biden in 2023 announced Space Command would be permanently located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been serving as its temporary headquarters. Biden’s Democratic administration said that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness.

A review by the Defense Department inspector general was inconclusive and could not determine why Colorado was chosen over Alabama. Trump, a Republican who enjoys deep support in Alabama, had long been expected to move Space Command back to Alabama.