Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force, told National Defense in an interview published Monday that the service plans to continue integrating the force with other military branches and combatant commands this year.
He said the service established Space Operations Command in October and intends to complete the design and set up a Space Training and Readiness Command and Space Systems Command in 2021.
“We’re creating a new warfighting analytical function that we’re going to establish in 2021 and couple that with what we hope and believe to be a more streamlined and agile acquisition approach,” he added.
Thompson said the Space Force is collaborating with the intelligence community to come up with a national security space intelligence activity in support of the service’s warfighting domain and making digital engineering as the foundation of its acquisition programs.
He discussed how the service engages and works with the defense industry through Space Pitch Days, Space Enterprise Consortium initiative and its own version of AFWERX. He also cited how the Space Development Agency leverages commercial investments and capabilities to meet military requirements.
Thompson mentioned some of the service’s accomplishments, including the transfer of enlisted personnel from the Air Force and planning guidance issued by Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, chief of space operations and an inductee into Executive Mosaic's Wash100 for 2021.
