Military Space Programs Emerge as a Top Priority in 2021

July 1, 2020 by Leave a comment

Lloyd McCoy Jr.

By Lloyd McCoy, Market Intelligence Manager

While passage of the 2021 budget is still months away, Congress and the White House are busy crafting the final version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. This is the most important budget document for the Department of Defense as it establishes funding levels and sets the policies under which money will be spent. As such, it’s a reliable barometer for DOD priorities in the next year or two.

There’s a clear consensus emerging between the Administration and Congress on space as a high priority and the upcoming NDAA will call for a strengthened role in space for our military. More specifically, acquiring the infrastructure and technologies that will further development of space-based assets and capabilities will be spelled out.

Let’s look at where we expect IT solutions to be most needed in the space domain:  Read more of this post

Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with , ,

Winners in the FY21 Defense Budget Request

March 19, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Toné Mason, Senior DOD Analyst

The President is requesting $705.4B in DOD funding for FY21, which is a modest 0.1% increase from FY20. The biggest winner by far is U.S. Space Force, but there are still plenty of opportunities across DOD and the services for IT vendors.

Announced in FY20, funding for Space Force in FY21 is largely focused on providing funding for the establishment of the organization as a whole. More details regarding metrics and objectives are anticipated to be further developed over the next few years. From what we know at this time, automation, infrastructure, cyber and data analytics are anticipated to be key areas of interest for them.

Here’s a summary of DOD budget highlights for FY21. Read more of this post

Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Space Force…Lasers, Satellites, Debt, Oh My!

January 8, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Toné Mason, DOD Senior Analyst

The Space Force has finally been established and its focus will be on national security and the preservation of satellites. But what exactly is it and where is it going? Will it include spaceships that shoot out laser beams?

Lots of people are asking lots of questions, but let’s get started with the biggest elephant in the room – armed combat. The Space Force will not include armed combat scenarios and the Air Force has no intentions to make it that way. Now that bubbles have been burst, what is the point of the Space Force if it won’t include armed combat? Why do we need a Space Force if there will be no armed combat? Read more of this post

Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with ,

DOD Space Organizations: What IT Companies Need to Know

May 1, 2019 by Leave a comment

Stephanie Meloni

By Stephanie Meloni, Market Intelligence Manager

DOD has made it clear: the space domain is a huge modernization priority. Concern over peer adversaries’ capabilities and adverse effects are a concern in every domain—sea, land, air, cyber—and space.

So many critical U.S. assets are hosted in space, and an attack on them would be potentially devastating. Because satellites are so vital to the technology we use in daily life, lawmakers and DOD leadership want to ensure that their ability to operate is better protected. As such, DOD has requested a 17% increase to the portfolio of space programs, bringing the total to $14B for the FY2020 budget request.

What DOD has not made quite clear–because there are still so many details to be worked out, many of them dependent on lawmakers–is exactly how its proposed and existing space organizations will align to support the goal of advancing U.S. space capabilities. Here’s an overview and status of the organizations DOD is looking at to strengthen the space domain. Read more of this post

Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with , , , ,

The Return of Space Command – The Space Force for Now

November 7, 2018 by Leave a comment

By Mark Wisinger, Senior Analyst

Space Force? Not exactly. The new FY19 NDAA features the requirement to re-establish Space Command – which is high-priority focus area for department policy makers in FY19.

DOD policy makers like John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, have been developing a plan to meet the Congressional mandate to re-establish US Space Command, which was originally de-established back in 2002. In the short term, we are likely to see Space Command spun out of STRATCOM as a subordinate command, considering Space Command was originally folded into STRATCOM back in 2002. It’ll primarily be staffed with Air Force Personnel as it is stood up, sourcing from STRATCOM and Air Force Space Command.

Read more of this post

Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with , , , , , , ,

%d bloggers like this: