The U.S. Space Force is rapidly reshaping how it develops and delivers capabilities, unveiling a plan designed to speed acquisitions and increase agility under the Pentagon’s new acquisition reform initiative.
Following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent effort to overhaul the Defense Department’s (DOD) – rebranded as the War Department by the Trump administration – acquisition system, the military services are racing to put implementation plans in place.
Hegseth has ordered that each service submit its plan within 60 days of the initiative’s unveiling earlier this month.
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, offered an early look at the Space Force’s approach during a Center for Strategic & International Studies event Tuesday.
“We must change if we want to maintain our edge,” Saltzman said.
He outlined steps to streamline acquisition processes and accelerate the delivery of capabilities, emphasizing the need for a “responsive acquisition system” that meets today’s “complex dynamic security environment.”
The first priority is building a capable workforce of acquisition experts who understand the service’s space, cyber, and intelligence missions and possess deep knowledge of the government capability delivery process.
“We must identify the positions within our organizations which require the advanced acquisition training and knowledge,” Saltzman said, adding that it’s also critical that the “guardians that fill these roles have the necessary skills and experience.”
This requires deliberate training and experience, including a “new acquisitions course, expanded deployment to industry, and close partnership with the Warfighter Acquisition University,” he said.
Second, the service needs to simplify requirements and give acquisition professionals and contractors flexibility to deliver minimum viable capabilities quickly, Saltzman explained.
“We must think how we approach documenting requirements,” Saltzman said. “We need to drive clarity and more importantly, simplicity in our system requirements.”
Saltzman said the goal is to prioritize speed over perfection, minimizing requirements for testing and delivering a minimum viable capability as soon as possible, with enhancements added as operational threats evolve.
The third action item emphasizes formalizing the Space Force’s approach to force design. Saltzman said the service must clearly communicate its warfighting needs and space architecture to stakeholders, including Congress, industry, the science and technology community, allies, and partners.
By providing a clear and stable demand signal, Saltzman said, the Space Force aims to shorten timelines and improve coordination, helping all stakeholders align with the service’s long-term vision.
“We’re setting a clear, complete and hopefully stable demand signal for all to follow, ultimately shortening the timelines to realize our vision,” he said.
Fourth, acquisition processes will be restructured for agility.
“We must structure ourselves and our processes for rapid, agile and iterative procurement,” Saltzman said adding that the new portfolio acquisition executives will gain authority to make resource trades and adjust priorities quickly, delivering incremental capabilities instead of relying on all-or-nothing milestones.
“A capability that is good enough and ready now will always be better than a perfect solution that arrives too late for the fight or one that never arrives at all,” Saltzman said, underscoring a shift from all-or-nothing milestones to more frequent, smaller delivery increments.
Finally, Saltzman said the Space Force will evolve its test and fielding framework, shifting to continuous, streamlined approaches that validate only what is necessary for operational effectiveness.
Streamlined documentation and a focus on operational acceptance, rather than exhaustive assurance, will keep testing integrated and prevent unnecessary delays in fielding, he explained.
“We must deliver on this warfighting imperative for the joint force. The U.S., and quite frankly, the American people, our future guardians, the future of the nation, depend on it,” Saltzman said.