The Department of Defense (DOD) announced on Sept. 3 that it is launching the Secure Space Network, a new effort to design, produce, and deploy approximately 50 mobile Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and related information systems across the United States.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the Department of War.
The department said the network will broaden regional access to accredited secure workspaces, allowing more defense suppliers to participate in classified development, collaboration, and production.
The Office of Industrial Base Growth, which sits within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, will lead the effort.
The rapidly deployable secure facilities can be positioned at military installations, industry-focused sites such as APEX Accelerators, and other mission-relevant locations, according to the department. The effort also envisions fixed facilities that can provide longer-term secure collaboration capacity.
“We must make it easier for capable companies to contribute at every level of the mission,” said James R. Mismash, deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base growth and director of the Office of Small Business Programs.
The department said many companies with technologies relevant to national security lack ready access to accredited facilities where classified information can be discussed, developed, and integrated. For emerging and nontraditional suppliers, establishing fixed classified infrastructure can require significant time and investment, creating a barrier to entering or expanding their defense work.
“Industry has identified access to classified environments as a major barrier, and the Secure Space Network directly addresses that challenge by opening the door to classified work for more companies,” Mismash said.
The department said expanding access to accredited secure environments could increase the pool of companies able to contribute capabilities, collaborate directly with government teams, and compete for classified defense work.
The effort also aims to give companies more opportunities to move from unclassified engagement into classified development and production, increasing competition across the defense industrial base.
The initial production effort will establish a repeatable capability for expanding secure infrastructure as national and industrial requirements grow. It will also establish scalable production capacity for the mobile units, giving the department a surge-capable pathway for rapidly increasing accredited secure workspace capacity.
The department said the approach will provide greater flexibility to position secure capabilities closer to emerging mission requirements, suppliers, and technology development activities rather than relying solely on traditional facility construction.
The Secure Space Network will use an agile, iterative acquisition approach in partnership with the Space Development Agency to reduce risk and accelerate delivery, according to the release.
“With strong partnership across the agency and support from Congress, this effort will strengthen our supplier base and help deliver the capabilities our warfighters need faster and at greater scale,” Mismash said.
The department’s Sept. 3 announcement did not provide a timeline for deploying the approximately 50 mobile facilities or further details on where they will be located.