White also discussed a new initiative to leverage commercial innovation called “SSC Front Door,” which she said will give industry a more clear entry point to engage with the command. As for shifting the culture to be “laser-focused on the threat,” White said SSC has mandated monthly threat briefings for all acquisition personnel and is offering content from those briefings to industry. On the organizational side, the command is poised to announce a realigned structure in the coming weeks aimed at reducing bureaucracy, increasing industry engagement and tightening its focus on key mission areas.

“The nation needs to make its space architecture more resilient so that it can be counted on during times of crisis and conflict.”įor SSC, supporting the push for resiliency means organizational and cultural changes as well as finding new ways to engage with industry and streamline its processes, White said. “We are at a critical juncture for our space defense architecture, and there is a real sense of urgency to act,” Calvelli, a former National Reconnaissance Office official, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. And the Biden administration’s nominee to serve as the Air Force’s first-ever space acquisition executive, Frank Calvelli, brought the point home during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

John Raymond said during a Mitchell Institute event in January the service would “begin to pivot significantly” to a resilient architecture this year. While it’s not immediately clear how SSC leadership defines “maximum operational capability,” the command’s push for fielding more resilient constellations - and doing so quickly - aligns with messaging from Air Force and Space Force leadership.ĭefining “a resilient space order of battle” tops Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s list of operational imperatives, which he outlined earlier this year.

Speaking during a Space Symposium 365 event this week, White didn’t elaborate on the threat assessments that support the 2026 need date, but said there’s an urgency among the service’s acquisition leadership to ensure its processes and culture are structured to support rapid development and fielding of new space capabilities.

Space warfare timeline