NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AFNS) As delivered by Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman Sept. 23, 2025 --
It never ceases to amaze me to how many of you show up to see the new Secretary. I really do appreciate that!
Thanks to Bernie, what an icon that guy is too … amazing. Good morning! Welcome to AFA day two. It’s an honor to be back here at National Harbor for this tremendous event.
Let me start by thanking Secretary Meink. Sir, your leadership and advocacy for the men and women of the Space Force has been tremendous. In just four months, you’ve set a new tone for the Department. Your collaborative, common sense approach to problem-solving and your clear-eyed focus on readiness and modernization are exactly what the Air and Space Forces need. So thank you very much sir.
I’d also like to add a personal thank you to General Allvin. I mean it when I say, I could not do my job without your guidance, your counsel, your mentorship, and your ... “Hey Salty get over here, let me tell you something…” It’s just been invaluable. The Space Force leans on the U.S. Air Force tremendously, and I’ve certainly leaned on you. So thank you for everything.
And thanks to our congressional members and staff, Guardians, Airmen, allies, international partners, inter-agency partners, and industry leaders that are here today. I appreciate everything you do to enable the success of the Space Force.
This is the third time I’ve had the honor to speak at this forum, and I’ll tell you, I am so impressed every time I get a chance to rejoin the AFA community. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to engage with one another on a huge scale, share ideas, talk about hard problems, and build the momentum and the relationships to solve our toughest national security problems.
So, thanks to the AFA for hosting, and for the invitation to speak today.
Now, there’s a paradox at the heart of what we do in the Space Force. When we are most successful, our work can be invisible. No one thinks about the satellite that connects their phone call, or the signal that pinpoints their location, or the Guardian who detects the missile launch, because it all just works … kind of like we say, it’s frickin’ magic.
The same is true for the people who build and buy these magical systems. To most Americans, their work is an invisible foundation of our national security. It’s the herculean, yet unseen effort that happens "left of launch" that ensures our success in, from, and to space.
So, today, I want to make that invisible work a little more visible.
The last two years here at AFA National, I talked about how we generate and employ combat space forces. Today, I want to change it up a bit. I want to focus on Force Design and Force Development. More specifically, capability delivery—how we acquire and field the systems that our Guardians employ to successfully accomplish our critical missions.
Now, it’s no secret that our national security and our way of life are enabled by space every day. Everything from smart phones to e-commerce, and financial systems to critical infrastructure depend on space ... and so does every branch of the U.S. military.
That’s what makes Force Design and Force Development so vital to our national interests.
Simply put, the Joint Force’s ability to project power, offer options to our national leaders, and provide security to the American people depend directly on how well we deliver and sustain our space systems.
And right now, as I see it, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revolutionize how we develop and deliver the space systems our nation needs. And because of this opportunity, I’m here to tell you, the Space Force stands postured to take decisive action.
Now, before I talk about the “what” and the “how”, let me show you the “why”.
(Video: Missile Warning Vignette)
What you just saw is “why” we have to get this right.
Acquisitions and sustainment are not just support functions; they are a warfighting imperative. On June 23rd, our incredible Guardians across acquisitions and operations came together to deliver life-saving wins for the nation. This is real, human consequence to our work, and it’s happening every day across the Space Force.
That’s why I’ve been discussing this topic so frequently with many different audiences.
I’ve had multiple engagements this summer on Capitol Hill about funding, staffing, training for the acquisition workforce. Recently I had the chance to visit the Guardians at Space Systems Command in Los Angeles to learn about how they’re building our future. And I stopped by several start-ups in Silicon Valley to talk about how they can infuse cutting-edge technology into our systems. I've also written about the topic in op-eds and messages to the force.
Those engagements all drove home what most of us already know: developing and delivering space warfighting capability is a vital part of our DNA as a service. The time has come for us to focus on enhancing the speed and effectiveness of our deliveries. Because, if we fall behind, the Joint Force and the Nation will feel the consequences.
Now, at this point, you might be asking– “why now”. It’s a fair question. Most of us have been around long enough to have seen more than one senior leader lay out a plan for acquisition reforms. And you can probably point to some examples where those reforms fell short.
But today, our leaders across the government are demanding change with an unprecedented unity and urgency.
President Trump recently signed an Executive Order directing the military to use rapid acquisition practices as the default.
When I speak to Congress, I hear a clear message: deliver faster, make sure the acquisitions workforce is trained and resourced, and make sure our operators understand how systems are delivered ... because it will take all Guardians working together to create the change we that need.
At the Pentagon, Secretary Hegseth ordered the dis-establishment of the joint requirements framework – known as JCIDS and the JROC – streamlining the process to focus on the department’s most pressing needs.
Out in the field, we’re hearing more urgent demands than ever from Combatant Commanders and the Joint Force leaders. Our acquisition Guardians want to deliver faster, and our operational units can’t wait to get their hands on the latest equipment and the latest tools.
Nearly every corner of the government is clamoring for change, from the highest levels on down.
Likewise, I hear from industry leaders that they are excited to partner in accelerating these changes.
So, we find ourselves in a generational moment. We have the drive, the political will, and the necessity to make the lasting changes in how we field combat-credible space capabilities. But in the end, the answer to the question, “why now?” is quite simply ... we have no choice. Because without effective capability delivery – we lose.
Recent events in Ukraine highlight what conflict – and daily life – looks like if we lose our edge in space. Leaders will struggle to command formations without space-enabled communications. Prolific GPS jamming will cripple civilian infrastructure, forcing society back into its analog past. Being able to see “over the next hill” becomes nearly impossible without satellite imagery. The evidence is clear, we cannot lose the decisive military and civil advantages offered by space.
And for the United States, that’s where the Space Force comes in. And it all starts with getting effective space capabilities rapidly into the field.
Now, as you all know, the acquisitions process converts budgets and requirements into combat capability … but it’s more than that. You just saw how fielding effective Missile Warning systems provides options to the President and saves American lives. And, believe me, every other Space Force system is just as vital.
Most Americans, and many warfighters, probably don’t think much about space capabilities, as long as those systems are working. But the moment the advantages disappear, the Joint Force and the American people will certainly feel the impacts.
The same can be said for our acquisitions workforce. When programs deliver on time and on budget, and they work for the users, many folks might not notice. But when a program is delayed, over budget, or doesn’t do what the operators need it to do, warfighters and Congress are the first to take note.
Fortunately, our experts and dedicated Guardians put in tremendous efforts behind the scenes to ensure tens of billions of dollars of hardware and software is delivered on time, on-target, and ahead of the threat.
It’s their job to make sure you “don’t notice”.
We all take that job seriously because it’s a national security imperative to deliver systems on an operationally-relevant timeline.
To that end, I’m excited to share some impressive successes and tell you about how the Space Force is further enhancing our delivery efforts.
The Space Force received its first budget in Fiscal Year 2021, with just over 12 billion dollars for research, development, and procurement. As Fiscal Year 2025 comes to a close, the funding line has grown to nearly $23 billion.
The Space Force is just closing out its first FYDP, and in that time, our funding has nearly doubled. That’s a clear signal from Congress and the American people that they believe in the importance of our mission and our need for new and modernized equipment.
Now, it’s our obligation to deliver, and we’ve been doing just that in some impressive ways.
Just this month, the Space Development Agency successfully launched the first 21 satellites in their “Tranche One” proliferated architecture. This system will provide missile warning, tactical communications, and more. And with over 150 satellites in all, this capability will provide continuous overwatch and deny first mover advantage by making attacks against these systems less impactful.
Speaking of launches, 2025 was busier than ever for our launch enterprise. We saw the first flight of the new Vulcan rocket, as well as several new entrants into the launch business. In fact, our National Security Space Launch program is on track to log the most launches ever over the next year. And at the same time, commercial launches – most of which use launchpads on our Space Force ranges – have quadrupled since 2020.
On top of all that, we brought the SILENT BARKER system into operations last year to enhance our domain awareness in partnership with the NRO, and we successfully launched the 8th flight of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle just last month.
And remember the shoulder-to-shoulder development of Missile Warning systems that Lieutenant Colonel Groller was talking about? Well, the combined team from Space Systems Command and Mission Delta 4 is approaching a key ops-acceptance milestone for the FORGE system this week, bringing better target tracking, cyber-resiliency, and new user interfaces into operations for the 11th Space Warning Squadron.
It's been quite a year for the Space Force and our ability to deliver capabilities to the Joint Force and the nation.
But simply building, launching, and accepting new systems into operations isn’t enough. As Secretary Meink said yesterday, our systems must also be combat effective.
We must deliver with the quality that today’s space operations demands and be assured that these systems can survive the fight. Balancing quality with risk is where our small but mighty team of Test and Evaluation professionals come in.
Last fall, Space Testers from Delta 12 worked with the Space Rapid Capabilities Office to test new Remote Modular Terminals … portable SATCOM jammers that the Joint Force will rely on in contested battlefields. Their determination and sense of urgency delivered 12 of these critical systems into ops in under a year and ensured they are fortified against cyber attack.
And in June, Delta 12 and Mission Delta 3 executed the first ORANGE STARS exercise with partners across the services and industry. This event pitted our Guardians against realistic threats, helping hone their skills, and experience what it’s like to fight their electronic warfare systems against a thinking adversary.
2024 was also the most accurate year in history for GPS. By combining new tactics, rapid upgrades, and testing-in-ops, we boosted the average global GPS accuracy by 40%.
Today, thanks to the Guardians of SSC and Mission Delta 31, your smartphone or wristwatch can navigate you to work, track your training run, or guide a tractor with accuracy down to the size of a football.
It can also guide B-2 bombers halfway around the world, and steer precision-guided munitions to within inches of their target … in case that’s ever needed.
But here’s what we must realize…high-quality space systems are mandatory, however, they’re far less relevant if we wait for them to be near-perfect before we put them in the hands of warfighters.
Timeliness is one of the most visible aspects of a program … it can also be one of the toughest to achieve. This year, I’ve seen some brilliant Guardians and industry partners bringing vital systems into ops at blistering speeds.
Over the last year, we launched two state-of-the-art GPS satellites to continue upgrading timing and navigation to the world. In the past, it took us almost two years to prepare, transport, stage, and launch a GPS satellite. Now, it takes us only three months.
We also held one of the GPS satellites in storage on the ground for a period of time before launch – a first for us. This is proof that we can maintain a ready-reserve to replace GPS satellites quickly if reconstitution is needed.
And once the satellites reach orbit, the Mission Delta 31 Commander owns the system and everything associated with its readiness. This enables us to fix problems on-the-fly and prioritize sustainment efforts to optimize readiness.
At the same time, the Space Rapid Capabilities Office is moving with a sense of urgency, fielding new satellite control antennas from design to operations in under two years – providing much-needed relief for our task-saturated Satellite Control Network.
Delivering today’s systems is critical, but we’re also building the architecture of the future and making sure we’re prepared for what our adversaries might do next.
A small team of planners and strategists has been focused on our 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year plans, so we know where to invest to stay ahead. To do this, we looked closely at what our adversaries can do today, and what we expect them to be able to do in the future.
The combination of this analysis, intelligence, and strategy will be formally captured in a document called the Future Operating Environment, which will serve as an authoritative source for requirements planning. With this planning, we will design and publish our Objective Force – this is the “what, when, and how many” – for space systems, support structures, and manpower… all of the elements of a combat credible force.
This detailed assessment, planning, and analysis will provide clarity on mission requirements and resourcing – AND inform industry on what the service will need for the next 15 years.
Put simply, it ensures our operations and programs are synchronized, and that we are all working toward the same goal: to build the force we need, now and into the future.
Now at this point, I hope I’ve convinced you that the current state of capability delivery in the Space Force is strong – enabling the Joint Force and the American people.
But as I mentioned, the calls for us to go faster and deliver more are louder than they’ve ever been. And at just shy of six years old, the Space Force certainly has room for improvement.
The defense acquisitions system offers us a lot of flexibility, but it can also raise barriers for space programs and the people who lead them. Many of those – like joint processes, law, appropriations, and the adversary’s actions – are outside our authority and control as a service.
How much easier my job would be if I could just tell the adversary what to do!
So, while we don’t have the authority to overhaul the entire acquisitions system, we can make targeted enhancements in key areas that we do control, to great benefit.
Three of those focus areas that I’ll highlight today are… organizing to better align our rapid capabilities delivery with operational readiness, re-imagining our partnerships with industry, and enhancing the development of our acquisition workforce.
First – we’re organizing ourselves differently. Integrated Mission Deltas pair operational units and sustainment, under one commander. And that commander is responsible for the end-to-end readiness of the system and the people involved. They set the priorities, decide where to apply resources, and manage mission risk. In short, the Commander who owns the readiness problems also owns the tools, the resources, and authorities to address those problems.
This allows us to prioritize the fixes that are most important to operational readiness, test, upgrade in-ops, and improve quickly as we learn from real world experience.
In the past, we often waited until a new capability was nearly perfect … rigorously tested to exacting standards prior to ops acceptance. But today’s contested environment requires a different risk model, because we don’t have time as a luxury anymore.
Effective systems don’t require perfection to be combat credible. We need to consider rapid entry into operations, manage the capability with a smart risk posture, and then focus on rapid and continuous improvement of the capability in operations.
A great example is the Deep-Space Advanced Radar Capability – a revolutionary technology that can track incredibly small objects in geostationary orbit from the ground and warn of threats near some of our most important satellites.
The first of these powerful new radars was recently installed in Australia with the help of our fantastic partners there. The operators and acquirers worked together to bring the system into limited operations and performed streamlined testing to understand the risk. We’re now providing critical Space Domain Awareness data to the Joint Force months earlier than if we had used more traditional acceptance procedures.
The Integrated Mission Delta will fuel this new risk-forward posture, with operations, sustainment and system enhancement all under one roof.
Now, this does not mean that we’re shifting away from focused acquisition work. Each of the IMDs will be paired with a System Delta in SSC, dedicated to rapid development and procurement for that specific mission area. This direct, mission-focused collaboration should tighten the feedback loop enabling delivery of combat credible capabilities more quickly and effectively.
So far, we’ve stood up four Mission Deltas spanning Space Domain Awareness, Electronic Warfare, Missile Warning, and Navigation and Timing. We also established five System Deltas this year, and there are more on the way.
This pairing is key to delivering what’s needed, providing combat capability sooner, and making iterative improvements based on the warfighter’s top priorities.
But the service can’t do it alone.
So, we’re reimaging how we interact with our industry partners, moving from a transactional relationship to a more collaborative one.
We’re planning high-level touchpoints with industry leaders early in force design to make sure our strategies align. We’re designing partnered wargames to evaluate how industry’s cutting-edge technology can plug directly into our architecture. We’re collaborating more closely to ensure mutual understanding of operational concepts, the threat environment, and how shared investments will benefit all of us.
We also need industry to bring us your best ideas, even if we don’t know what those ideas are. You may have heard about the website Space Systems Command uses to take in new ideas – called the “front door”.
Well, we’ve just relaunched it as the “Space Force Front Door”, building on past success to gather innovative ideas from industry.
Your concepts are now vetted against the needs of organizations beyond just SSC – including all Space Force equities, broader Department needs, other government agencies, and even allies. If it’s a good match, we’ll connect you with the right office to see where your great ideas might enable our missions.
Every bit of new technology that gives us an advantage is a win for the Space Force and our nation.
Finally, I want to talk about the most important asset in this ecosystem – our Guardians.
The Space Force, by percentage, has by far the largest acquisitions workforce of any service. Uniformed Guardians in acquisitions roles make up over 49% of our officer corps. The next closest is the U.S. Navy, at just 9%. At nearly 4,000 strong, our military and civilian acquisition professionals are the center of gravity for delivering combat space capability.
Space acquisitions is one of the most intricate professions on – or off – the planet, and it can take years to master. At the pace the Joint Force is demanding our capabilities, we will need an expert workforce to deliver.
So, it’s imperative that we invest in developing our workforce so that all Guardians can effectively play their role in system delivery.
For the first time ever, we’re providing 100% of our officers with initial training in space operations, cyber operations, intelligence, AND acquisition fundamentals before their first assignment. Then, those who move into acquisition roles will attend a “first of its kind” Acquisition Initial Qualification Training … an in‑residence, 10-week course tailored for space acquisition, and augmented with industry participation and senior leader mentoring.
Earlier this month, the first cohort of students began learning about program management, engineering, contracting, and testing of space systems. I’m sure we’ll see these Guardians creating tremendous benefits across the force very soon.
Beyond training, we’re also redesigning career paths for our military and civilian workforce. This provides them with the clarity on what we expect as they move up the ranks. It also ensures we develop them to fill key positions that require both breadth and depth to be effective.
The simple truth is, we need to develop our small workforce at an individual level. We’d be missing an opportunity if we took a one-size fits all approach. We want Guardians to have a variety of experiences early on, allowing us to find their strengths, and helping them understand where their passions lie.
Then, we can match the skills, strengths, and desires of each Guardian to the training and experiences they need to thrive across the wide range of Space Force missions.
Here’s what that looks like in action.
Captain Drew Fressel is an acquirer at Space Systems Command. He recently deployed to South Korea, along with about 20 other SSC Guardians, to participate in EXERCISE ULCHI FREEDOM SHIELD. Drew served as the Chief of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance for the exercise, working side-by-side with our Space Forces Korea team and our Republic of Korea partners. He war-gamed dynamic targeting of enemy assets holding our satellites at risk and strengthened our bonds with the ROK.
For his incredible leadership, Captain Fressel was awarded the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman’s Medal – a singular and well-deserved honor.
And just as we are immersing acquisitions professionals in joint activities, we are working just as hard to expose Guardians with operational backgrounds to acquisition organizations. In fact, the first Acquisition IQT includes several operators who are on-ramping into acquisition positions. And this is only the beginning.
Ultimately, we’re building a framework for capabilities excellence. Not every program can be – or needs to be – extremely fast, very low-cost, AND ultra high-performing at the same time. In fact, that goes against the laws of government acquisition. But smartly selecting how quickly we need certain capabilities into operations, how much risk we can sensibly take to get there, and doing so repeatably within our authorized budget, is the goal.
Of course, this won’t be without risk. Being bolder and faster can come with trade-offs. We will make mistakes, and there will be some less-than-perfect outcomes. But even if efforts are unsuccessful early on, we WILL learn from our mistakes, so that these failures are a means to the end of producing the most combat credible space forces in the world.
So, in closing, I ask each of you to think about how you enable our Space Force to deliver capabilities, and how we’ll deliver those capabilities with the intent to win.
You each have a role to play.
To our industry teammates: we need real partnership. Be honest with us. Don’t hide bad news. Challenge our assumptions, question requirements, offer recommendations, and point out our blind spots. Tell us what we’re not thinking about and provide clarity on how we can best leverage your unique strengths. We need industry to succeed, just as you need us to succeed.
To our partners in Congress: Thank you for the authorities and the drive to go faster. I appreciate every opportunity to tell you about the vital work our Guardians are doing and highlight areas where your support is propelling us to even greater heights.
And most importantly, to our Guardians: You are the heart and soul of our mission. You fuel the fight to win.
Your nation needs you on the invisible front line every day. Continuous learning and rapid improvement are how we stay one step ahead of the adversary. Whether you’re operating, sustaining, developing, or enabling those who do... you need to meet every day with the sense of urgency of a service preparing to fight and win tonight.
And while you’re focusing on delivering, know that your service leaders will be fighting for your programs and for your development as a top priority. The Joint Force and the American people don’t always see what Guardians do, but we still must deliver… our nation is counting on us. I know we are up to the challenge because I’ve seen what you can do. And it makes me proud to watch you do it every day.
Thank you. Semper Supra!