We’ve already got SMC and the NRO. What the heck will a Space Development Agency do that’s different, and why.
By Colin ClarkNGA HQ: The low grinding noise you could barely hear yesterday was the sound of the tectonic plates of American intelligence shifting as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Agency got new directors. The nugget of news is that Vice Adm. Bob Sharp replaces Robert Cardillo as NGA director and President Trump…
By Colin ClarkFor insights about how the US military currently views the realities of space war, it’s helpful to consider the recently concluded annual Schriever War Game.
By Colin ClarkThe scope of the Space Force appears to be growing, with a new Air Force memo spelling out all of the offices that will fall under the proposed new command.
By Colin ClarkThe “separate but equal” sixth service (don’t forget the Coast Guard) will be created in stages, because, as Pence finally admitted publicly, it “requires Congressional action.” And, as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Paul Selva, admitted today, if Congress passed the relevant laws in a year that would “unprecedented.”
By Colin ClarkWe’ve already got soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and Coasties. If President Trump gets what he wants, we may now have spacemen — but the Senate may say no.
By Colin ClarkWhen House Armed Services Chairman Thornberry proposed eliminating seven agencies and reducing personnel by 25 percent, he faced strong opposition. In the HASC’s draft bill, he scaled the proposal back to eliminating just three agencies. But that didn’t work either. During the committee’s markup of the House defense policy bill, members still pushed back.
By Mark CancianIt’s one of the coolest titles in the US military — space architect! Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced Tuesday night there will again be a space architect, known as the Chief Architect.
By Colin ClarkAfter years of missed deadlines, cost overruns and underperformance the Air Force has split the requirements for the troubled Joint Mission System program’s Increment 3, dividing them between the Coalition Space Operations Center and the National Space Defense Center. In a separate but apparently related action, the Air Force has also partnered with the nation’s spy satellite builder to create a new Space Situational Awareness satellite.
By Colin ClarkINSA HQ: Drive milestone decision authority down as low as is possible. Speed decision-making. Let the Intelligence Community agencies create simple and clear requirements and manage their programs, as long as everything goes along swimmingly. That outlines the changes to acquisition that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence plans to make over the…
By Colin ClarkThere will be organizational alterations, changes to “the way we are doing business” and, perhaps most importantly, Wilson said there will be “cultural change.” They will also try to prioritize what “our go-fast projects are.”
By Colin Clark
The stakes are high for President Trump’s nascent Space Force because a poorly integrated service is a price America cannot afford to pay. This means a careful, thoughtful, conditions-based approach must be followed to assess if and when an autonomous military space organization will provide the best path forward. All four services will contribute to…
By David Deptula