The U.S. Space Force is implementing all nine of its acquisition portfolios as part of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) broader efforts to reform its weapon acquisition process.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD has been rebranded as the Department of War.
In November 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a major overhaul aimed at speeding up the delivery of new technologies to U.S. military forces. A central feature of this strategy involves restructuring the program executive offices into Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs).
These executives will be the direct authority over major weapons programs, with a mandate to report to their respective Service Acquisition Executives. PAEs are now accountable for portfolio outcomes and are authorized to act without waiting for multi-year approval chains.
The first two Space Force PAEs, Space Access and Space-Based Sensing and Targeting, were revealed in January. On March 17, the Space Force announced the second tranche, which includes:
- Missile Warning and Tracking: Responsible for constellations across all orbital regimes, including low Earth orbit satellites managed by the Space Development Agency.
- Infrastructure: Focuses on data management, Space Force training and testing, and personnel management capabilities.
- Battle Management, Command and Control, Communications, and Space Intelligence: Manages data, networks, command and control, intelligence, and space domain awareness for detection, characterization, attribution, anticipation, and targeting.
- Satellite Communications and Position, Navigation & Timing: Oversees both military and commercial programs related to satellite communications and navigation.
Tom Ainsworth, performing the duties of the Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, told attendees at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference on Tuesday that, in addition to the four announced, the service is also working on three additional PAE categories: space control; electronic warfare, cyber warfare, and orbital warfare; and integration.
“One of the things that we’re doing first is realigning all of the PAEs to mission areas,” he said, adding that while the department is still determining which specific programs will fall under each category, all PAE offices are now in place and operational.