Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture and integration at the U.S. Space Force, said investments in high-priority technologies and commercially available platforms are instrumental to maintaining the U.S. technological leadership in the space domain, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
“What’s so exciting to the Space Force and the space acquisition community about all this commercial innovation is that we can use it to maintain our technology lead, and deter conflict with our competitors,” Felt said.
Speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association’s “State of the Space Industrial Base” webinar, Felt said there are available space systems that are capable of delivering capabilities to meet warfighting needs.
Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition and integration, also sees the importance of speeding up the acquisition of more commercial technologies to boost the U.S. space capabilities, according to Felt.
“His formula for going faster in acquisition starts with smaller systems, and that includes buying more commercial systems,” Felt said.
Felt also noted that the Department of Defense’s investment strategy can have a significant effect on the space industry, adding that it can either be “super helpful” or “super harmful” to the industrial base.
Calvelli is set to share his thoughts on how to transform space acquisition to outpace U.S. competitors at GovCon Wire’s 2023 Space Acquisition Forum on Jan. 18. Click here to register.
