As competition in space intensifies among nations, the way the U.S. Space Force (USSF) procures technology is sending a jolt through the defense and space industries. According to a SpaceNews article published on the 3rd, "New round of Space Force SBIR projects focus on mission needs," the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program led by SpaceWERX, the Space Force's official innovation arm, has shifted its center of gravity beyond the search for general-purpose technologies toward directly solving the needs of actual operational missions.
The principle of using what you already have, buying what you can buy and building only what you need captures the urgency and pragmatism of a United States trying to keep pace with the speed of modern space warfare.
The Space Force is concentrating investment in technologies that can be fielded immediately, including In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM), wireless power transmission and artificial intelligence-based decision-making systems for space logistics.
In particular, it is combining the "Reverse Collider," in which operators explain their operational problems and needs directly to industry, with the Strategic Funding Increase and Tactical Funding Increase programs (STRATFI and TACFI), which link government and private capital. Through this approach, it is effectively crossing the so-called Valley of Death, where technology development dies out without reaching mass production and battlefield deployment.
These moves by the U.S. Space Force align with the intent of the Advanced Defense Capability Projects Act, a bill jointly introduced by lawmakers from both the governing and opposition parties on the 31st of last month. The bill contains a fundamental shift in acquisition procedures — moving away from the existing approach of developing complete weapons systems over long periods, toward quickly identifying the technologies needed on the battlefield and converting them directly into military capability.
The bill can be summarized in three points. First, capability requirements would be raised on the basis of the missions to be performed and the effects to be achieved, rather than fixed detailed specifications — an approach of objective-based requirements. Second, products with minimum viable functions would be deployed to the field first, with performance improved repeatedly by incorporating evaluations from actual use, an approach of organic iterative development. Third, verified products would be registered on a certification list so they can be purchased quickly without separate additional test and evaluation, or leased when necessary.
By favoring fast execution and repeated performance upgrades over perfect development, the bill is a welcome measure for advanced capability sectors, where technology replacement cycles are unusually short. Once the bill clears the National Assembly, its scope of application and specific implementation procedures must be set through presidential and ministerial decrees. That makes this moment — when the legal basis and implementation plans are being designed — a critical one.
There is one issue that must be addressed here. Artificial intelligence, drones and robotics are currently under discussion as targets for the subordinate regulations, but space must be included as well. Space capabilities such as low-Earth-orbit observation and communications satellites and AI platforms for satellite imagery are advancing just as fast as AI or drones. They are also a prime example of a field that must rapidly absorb innovative technology from the private sector.
It is also worth noting that the U.S. Space Force is shifting to a hybrid architecture that combines commercial satellites with military-only assets. Strengthening defense capability in the New Space era is not achieved simply by increasing or reallocating research and development budgets. Only when the actual needs of the requiring services, private-sector technology and rapid acquisition mesh organically can it translate into a genuine buildup of capability.
Through close consultation with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and other relevant agencies, space must be established as a core pillar of advanced capability in the subordinate regulations to come. Beyond that, I hope to see a strong space defense procurement system in which technology discovery leads to rapid acquisition and battlefield deployment.
