The Week In National Security Air and Space
Personnel Update
Space Force nominations confirmed. Last week, the Senate confirmed the nominations for: Maj Gen Dennis Bythewood, to be Lieutenant General, Commander, US Space Forces – Space; Lt Gen David Miller, to be Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements; Lt Gen Douglas Schiess, to be Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations; Maj Gen Gregory Gagnon, to be Lieutenant General, Commander of Space Force Combat Forces Command, with the name updated as of November 3; and Maj Gen Steven Whitney, to be Lieutenant General, Joint Chiefs of Staff as director of force structure, resources and assessment.
DoD / Other Services
Hegseth pledges sweeping overhaul of Pentagon procurement. In a wide-ranging address to industry executives at the National War College on Nov 7, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled an ambitious package of procurement and regulatory reforms aimed at breaking through what he described as the Pentagon’s “backwards culture” and accelerating innovation across military programs. Hegseth introduced a set of transformation goals, pillars, and new decision-making forums — all detailed in the newly released DOD Acquisition Transformation Strategy, published the same day. A few key changes include:
- A shift from “Program Executive Offices” to Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE), where a single official is accountable for many interrelated programs, with the ability to shift cash among weapon systems based on performance or schedule considerations.
- Contractual incentives and penalties for industry tied to whether companies deliver product on time.
- Commercial products and offerings as the new default policy.
- The establishment of “portfolio scorecards” to measure the performance of programs in a given portfolio.
Op-Eds / Reports
Mitchell Institute report urges Space Force to move faster on dynamic space operations. A new report from Charles Galbreath at the Mitchell Institute urges the Space Force to act quickly to build satellites that can refuel, repair, and maneuver in orbit to keep up with China’s advances. The study calls for a new program office to focus on in-space logistics, refueling systems, and smarter command-and-control networks. It also recommends using the X-37B spaceplane for real missions and expanding laser communications and launch options. Galbreath said building refuellable satellites might cost twice as much upfront but would save money over time. He added that in the future, the Space Force might even need Guardians operating directly in space.
NSSA report recommends specific investment in PNT for Golden Dome. In a new report from the National Security Space Association, author James Frelk recommends the Pentagon establish a dedicated budget to support its Golden Dome missile defense system’s positioning, navigation, and timing needs. The report suggests PNT capabilities are critical to Golden Dome’s ability to track targets, guide interceptors, and command and control a complex network of missile defense systems. “Urgent investments in a national, resilient PNT architecture with at least two or three sources that have markedly different failure modes are needed to address and mitigate known vulnerabilities of GPS and other systems, while bolstering the effectiveness of Golden Dome,” he writes.
International
Canada plans to boost defense budget by C$90B over next five years. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney released details of his C$64B defense budget, a C$9B boost from last year and a signal of his intent to overhaul Ottawa’s defense spending. The plan, pending Parliament’s approval, includes another C$81B for the Canadian military over the next five years and pushes Ottawa above NATO’s 2% of GDP funding requirement. Canada’s Defence Department will release a new industrial strategy in the coming months and has set up the Defence Investment Agency tasked to reduce red tape and speeding up procurement that prioritizes spending money on Canadian defense firms.
US State Department pushes back on EU’s draft Space Act. In response to EU’s draft Space Act publicized in June, the US State Department submitted a document expressing deep concern regarding proposed measures that could impose regulatory burdens on U.S. providers of space services to European customers. The State Department’s analysis, claims the Act’s provisions amount to “non-tariff barriers” and would “introduce challenges” to US government-to-government cooperation with the EU, individual countries within the EU, and ESA, affecting space weather, remote sensing, space exploration, spaceflight safety, space debris mitigation and remediation, [and] communications.
Threats
China increases military reconnaissance capabilities. China launched a new reconnaissance satellite, the Yaogan-46, late on November 2. The satellite is expected to have entered geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and will later maneuver into the geostationary belt. All previous Yaogan satellites, but one, have been sent to low Earth or sun-synchronous orbits. China does, however, operate the Gaofen-4 optical and Land Exploration-4 01 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in geostationary orbit. The Yaogan series is believed to be the designation for China’s military reconnaissance satellites. These include optical imaging and SAR satellites, and electronic intelligence gathering triplets.
Threats wrap-up: China continues to rapidly advance its space capabilities. Many technological advancements being addressed will have dual use applications – both for human spaceflight and military capabilities. Its inflatable, reconfigurable space manufacturing module, is ostensibly intended to support China’s human spaceflight endeavors; however, it will open doors for manufacturing in support of space-based military operations. China also continues to improve its orbital reconnaissance capabilities, probably advancing and increasing its GEO-based observation capabilities. Militarily relevant imaging from GEO is a strategic advantage, allowing persistent observation of strategic locations to support indications and warning, tracking, and targeting purposes.
The Week Ahead
Wednesday, 12 November
SpaceNews The Role of Space-Based Interceptors in Golden Dome. Virtual. (more)
DSI Hypersonic Innovation Summit. Dec 12-13. Huntsville, AL (more)
Thursday, 13 November
CSIS: Meeting the U.S. Defense Imperative: Challenges and Opportunities in the Development of the Defense Industrial Base Workforce. Washington, D.C. & Virtual. (more)
The LEO Satellite Policy Symposium w/ Jay Schwarz, et. al. Washington, D.C. & Virtual. (more)
Upcoming Events
(** = new additions)
November 2025
18: Defense One State of Defense Business Acquisition Summit, Washington, D.C. (more)
18: Space Foundation: FAGA Forum, Chantilly, VA (more)
18-20: Space Tech Expo Europe 2025, Bremen, Germany (more)
18-20: MilCIS2025, Military Communications and Information Systems, Canberra, Australia (more)
19: Defense Talks, Washington, D.C. (more)
**20: CSIS: Delivering Space Capabilities for Warfighting Advantage, Washington, D.C. & Virtual (more)
20: 11th Annual AFA Schriever Space Futures Forum (classified session), Redondo Beach, CA
20: NDIA U.S. & Japan Defense Industry Dialogue Series, Arlington, VA (more)
December 2025
2-4: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab: Cislunar Security Conference 2025, Laurel, MD (more)
3: Schriever Spacepower Series: Maj Gen Chris Povak, Virtual (more)
3-4: Space-Comm Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland (more)
5: USGIF GEOGala 2025, Tysons Corner, VA (more)
5-6: Reagan National Defense Forum, Simi Valley, CA & Virtual (more)
8: DISA 2025 Forecast to Industry (F2I), Towson, MD & Virtual (more)
9: SFA Spacepower Golf Tournament, Orlando, FL (more)
**10: Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition, Washington, D.C. (more)
10: CSIS Report Launch: Project Atom 2025, Washington, D.C. & Virtual (more)
10: SFA Spacepower Conference 2025, Orlando, FL (more)
11: WIA Awards Dinner, Arlington, VA (more)
12: SFA Space Force T-10 Miler Pasta Dinner, Orlando, FL (more)
16: NSSA Space Deterrence Forum (TS/SCI), Chantilly, VA (more)
16-18: DoD Commercial SATCOM Workshop, Crystal City, VA (more)
January 2026
12-16: AIAA Sci-Tech Forum 2026, Orlando, FL (more)
21: USGIF Mission Focus: Content Management in an Age of New Data Sources and AI, Falls, Church, VA (more)
22: NDIA Space Division Peter B. Teets Award Dinner, Los Angeles, CA (more)
22-23: SSC Space Industry Days, Los Angeles, CA (more)
**28-29: DSI Military Virtual Training and Simulation Summit, Orlando, FL (more)
29: POC 2026 Defense R&D Summit, TBD (more)
29-30: SPACECOM | Space Congress: The Global Conference & Expo for the Commercial Space Industry, Orlando, FL (more)
February 2026
**5-6: 2026 Miami Space Summit, Miami, FL (more)
**9-11: Defense and Intelligence Space Conference 2026, Reston, VA (more)
Congress / White House
Key Democratic negotiator casts doubt on reaching shutdown deal soon
The Hill, 6 November
Senate to vote Friday on pathway to end shutdown
The Hill, 6 November
Space Force
Space Force Rebrands Operations Command as Combat Forces Command
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 6 November
Air
Air Force Conducts Unarmed ICBM Launch as Trump Ponders Nuclear Tests
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 5 November
Air Education and Training Command has a new leader
Stars & Stripes, 5 November
Airmen Cleared to Start Training on New EA-37 Compass Call Simulator
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 5 November
Wilsbach’s 1st Call to Airmen: ‘At Our Core, We Fly and Fix Aircraft’
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 4 November
Air Force to Retain ‘Platinum’ F-15C/Ds Four More Years for Homeland Defense
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 3 November
New 3-Star USAFE, NATO Air Boss Takes Over Amid Russian Threats
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 3 November
Drones spotted above Belgian airbase were ‘spying’ on military planes, defense minister says
CNN, 3 November
DoD / Other Services
Hegseth pledges sweeping overhaul of Pentagon procurement
SpaceNews, 7 November
Experts see promise, risk in Pentagon’s draft acquisition reforms
Defense One, 5 November
Draft Memo Offers First Look at Pentagon Acquisition Reforms
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 4 November
Pentagon’s policy shop is ‘a pigpen-like’ mess: Sen. Cotton
Defense One, 4 November
Interagency / Other Departments
FCC commissioner warns U.S. influence on satellite spectrum debates could wane
SpaceNews, 6 November
White House renominates Isaacman to be NASA administrator
SpaceNews, 4 November
A confidential manifesto lays out Isaacman’s sweeping new vision for NASA
Politico, 3 November
Space Policy / Commentary
Report: Space Force Must Take ‘Decisive’ Steps Toward Dynamic Operations
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 4 November
Report: Mission Command with Chinese Characteristics? Exploring Chinese Military Thinking About Command and Control in Future Warfare
RAND, 22 October
International
Rocket Lab launches sixth iQPS satellite
SpaceNews, 6 November
US slams ‘discriminatory’ draft EU space law as imperiling NATO cooperation
Breaking Defense, 5 November
Canada, in push away from US, aims to invest billions in defense
Politico, 5 November
Analysts say experience, not funding, is hindering European smallsat launchers
SpaceNews, 4 November
Lawmakers warn UK must act now to get space ambitions back on track
SpaceNews, 3 November
Threats
China conducts ground tests on inflatable, reconfigurable space manufacturing module
SpaceNews, 4 November
China launches first GEO Yaogan satellite as India lofts record-mass commsat
SpaceNews, 3 November
Industry
Astranis Unveils a New Beyond-Line-of-Sight Satcom Product
Payload, 6 November
Portal Space Unveils Rapid Maneuverable Spacecraft with Plans to Launch In 2026
Defense Daily, 5 November
Florida backs space growth as FIU leads governance and security research
Space Daily, 5 November
OlmoEarth AI Platform Released to Expand Access to Planetary Data and Insights
Space Daily, 5 November
Kratos Adding to Satellite Communications Suite with Acquisition of Orbit Technologies
Defense Daily, 4 November
Laser-powered networks set to transform coordination of future satellite constellations
Space Daily 4 November
Lanteris, formerly a Maxar company, to be acquired by Intuitive Machines
Breaking Defense, 4 November
Golden Dome
Report: Pentagon Can’t Forget About PNT for Golden Dome
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 5 November
No Golden Dome Requirements Yet, but Space Firms Already Betting on Dual-Use Tech
Air & Space Forces Magazine, 3 November