USSF Conducting Market Research on Space-Based ISR Capabilities

The U.S. Space Force will meet with industry to learn about what space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance offerings are available on the market, according to top service officials.

Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the deputy chief of space operations for cyber and nuclear, said that such interactions with industry and the broader intelligence community are important for planning out future ISR programs, Defense News reported.

“You’d be silly if you didn’t ask industry, ‘Hey, what do you have that might fill some of these gaps? What do you have that might add these capabilities’,” Saltzman, a speaker at a past Potomac Officers Club event, said at a Defense Writers Group event.

According to Saltzman, the Space Force already has a team working with the other military services on identifying options for space-based ISR.

Saltzman said he expects the team will work to address capability gaps, including the need to balance information security with transparency.

Chief of Space Operations John Raymond, a past POC event speaker and a three-time Wash100 winner, previously said that the declining cost of space launches might allow the Space Force to expand its ISR role.

Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, the head of Space Systems Command, said that Space Force acquisition officials will meet vendors at a “reverse industry day.”

He said that, unlike traditional industry day events where the government lays out its plans, the upcoming meeting will be focused on allowing companies to pitch offerings.

The Space Force and the Air Force are expected to conclude a year-long review of space-based ISR options before the end of 2022.