Military & Defense
Space as a Sanctions Workaround: Financial Engineering & Shadow Procurement Networks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A strategic examination of Iran’s aerospace trajectory in early 2026 reveals a sophisticated convergence between the nation’s nascent space program and its global sanctions-evasion architecture. Following the reimposition of UN "snapback" sanctions in October 2025, Tehran has ...
Integrate Secures $17M Series A to Scale Classified Collaboration Software for Space Force
SEATTLE, Washington – Integrate, a software startup specializing in secure project management for the defense-industrial base, has closed a $17 million Series A funding round led by FPV Ventures. Announced on Feb. 11, 2026, the capital injection will accelerate the ...
The Benign Era is Over: Why the Commercial Space Sector Just Woke Up on the Front Lines
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. For the past decade the SmallSat industry operated under a comforting delusion that low Earth orbit was a sanctuary where commercial operators could move fast, break things, and prioritize automotive-grade electronics over military-grade hardening. Dr. Paul ...
The $175 Billion Shadow: Inside the Golden Dome’s Identity Crisis
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. Even here in the heart of Silicon Valley, the conversation has pivoted aggressively toward the Pentagon. The topic is the Golden Dome, the administration’s missile defense architecture mandated by Executive Order 14186 and funded at $175 ...
Global Defense Budgets Shift Toward Total Situational Awareness and Orbital AI
HERNDON, Virginia – Targeting the gap between raw satellite data collection and actionable battlefield intelligence, global defense agencies have officially pivoted toward "Total Situational Awareness" as a primary budget priority for 2026. A market analysis released on Wednesday, Feb. 11, ...
SDA Acting Chief Sovereign over the Supply Chain
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. The age of PowerPoint architecture has passed. For five years, the Space Development Agency operated as the Pentagon’s rebellious startup, promising to deliver a Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture faster than the establishment could draft a requirements ...
From SmallSat Gold Rush to Fortress: The Militarization of Commercial Space
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium: The era of the slide-deck billionaire is dead. Attendees entering the Small Satellites: Trends and Opportunities session expecting standard futurism about connecting the unconnected or democratizing the stars were likely disappointed. The mood at SmallSat Symposium ...
Vantor Secures $5.3 Million NGA Contract to Deliver AI-Driven Global Terrain Monitoring
On February 5, 2026, Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence) was awarded a $5.3 million contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) under the Luno B program. The initiative focuses on the automated detection of real-time changes to the Earth’s landscape, leveraging ...
Space Force may be done with R-GPS, but Congress isn’t
On January 19, 2026, the U.S. Space Force officially terminated the Resilient GPS (R-GPS) program, a $1 billion initiative designed to augment the existing GPS constellation with a "proliferated" layer of small, low-cost satellites. Despite this cancellation, Congress has pushed ...
Russia ‘intercepts Europe’s key satellites’ placing NATO satellite at risk
On February 4, 2026, reports from European intelligence and space agencies surfaced detailing a series of aggressive "satellite interceptions" by Russia that have placed NATO’s orbital infrastructure at unprecedented risk. European security officials believe that at least 17 key European ...
The Next Phase of Pentagon Reform: Achieving Strategic Dominance in Space
On February 2, 2026, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a major policy address at Blue Origin’s Rocket Factory in Merritt Island, Florida, marking a critical expansion of the Department’s ongoing acquisition reforms into the space domain. This speech, ...
Germany boosts military space program with satellites and lasers
On February 3, 2026, Major General Michael Traut, head of German Space Command, officially unveiled a massive €35 billion ($41 billion) investment plan to overhaul Germany's military space architecture by 2030. Announced on the sidelines of a space industry event ...
Space Development Agency Issues RFI for Space-to-Air Optical Communication Terminals
The Space Development Agency (SDA), the "constructive disruptor" of Department of Defense space acquisition, has published a high-priority Request for Information (RFI) seeking industry solutions for airborne optical communication terminals. The initiative aims to integrate military aircraft directly into the ...
U.S. Space Command to Integrate Commercial Firms into Classified Nuclear Threat Wargames
On January 28, 2026, U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) announced a significant expansion of its defense planning, inviting commercial space partners to participate in a series of classified wargames focused on nuclear threats in orbit. The move reflects growing military concern ...
U.S. Space Command Urges Pentagon Pivot to Sustained On-Orbit Logistics and Maneuver
On January 28, 2026, Gen. Stephen Whiting, Commander of U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM), delivered a keynote address at the Space Mobility Conference in Orlando, Florida, calling for a foundational shift in military space strategy. Whiting argued that the Department of ...
Northrop Grumman Projects Space Growth in 2026 Following 2025 Segment Softness
In its fourth-quarter earnings report released on January 27, 2026, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) outlined a strategic recovery for its Space Systems segment, projecting sales to reach approximately $11 billion in fiscal year 2026. While the company reported record ...
Space Force Accelerates Commercial Reserve Fleet Integration for 2026 Operations
In a move to formalize the military’s reliance on private-sector orbital assets, the U.S. Space Force has established a timeline to operationalize the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) by September 2026. This initiative, modeled after the Air Force’s Civil Reserve ...
Kratos Expands Hypersonic Infrastructure as VisionWave Unveils Space-Based Counter-UAS Architecture
The defense landscape is undergoing a structural pivot toward integrated Radio Frequency (RF) and autonomous sensing systems, moving away from isolated point-defense toward wide-area, theater-scale awareness. This shift was underscored on Monday, January 26, 2026, as VisionWave Holdings (Nasdaq: VWAV) ...
U.S. Space Force Field Commands Prepare Upcoming GPS III Launch to Enhance Warfighter Capabilities
In an announcement from El Segundo and Colorado Springs, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Combat Forces Command (CFC) confirmed the upcoming launch of the ninth Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite. Space Vehicle (SV)09, named in ...
Aalyria Selected by U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory for Space Data Network Experimentation (SDNX) Program
In an announcement released January 22, 2026, the advanced networking firm Aalyria confirmed it has been selected by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to support the Space Data Network Experimentation (SDNX) program. The contract, awarded through the AFRL’s ...
