- Under the Pentagon’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, the Space Force replaced PEOs with nine PAEs to accelerate capability delivery
- The new PAEs have already absorbed responsibilities for key programs under the SDA, including the PWSA
- Join Space Force and Air Force leaders at the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30
Space is increasingly contested and global adversaries are actively building out orbital capabilities that directly threaten U.S. national security.
To maintain strategic dominance, the Space Force must equip warfighters with advanced capabilities fast and at scale. However, old procurement processes bogged down by bureaucracy and years-long development processes can no longer keep up with the demands of the modern battlefield.
Recognizing the challenge, the space service is reforming its acquisition structure to ensure that guardians have access to cutting-edge tools.
The Space Force’s changing acquisition structure will be one of the key topics that defense leaders and industry experts will discuss at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30. At the event, attendees will gain insights on the evolving priorities of the Air and Space Forces to address threats in the air and space domains. Sign up today to secure your seat.
Why Is the Pentagon Shifting to PAEs?
In 2025, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, a two-time Wash100 winner, introduced the Acquisition Transformation Strategy, which aims to expedite the delivery of new capabilities to warfighters. Among the major changes introduced in the strategy is a shift from program executive offices, also known as PEOs, to portfolio acquisition executives, or PAEs.
According to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, a 2026 Wash100 Award winner, the move to PAE will empower acquisition leaders to do their jobs.
“For too long, we’ve had responsibility without the authority to match,” he stated at Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference in December via SatNews. “We’re fixing that by streamlining oversight and giving PAEs the ability to make decisions quickly.”
Air Force Gen. Dale R. White, director of critical major weapon systems, commented that the new acquisition structure not only gives PAEs the authority to make decisions, it will also enable them to measure success based on mission outcomes.
White added that the PAEs represent a “unity of effort,” allowing contracting officers, financial management personnel and engineers to be involved in solving operational problems.
What Are the Nine Space Force PAEs?
In line with Hegseth’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, the Space Force has announced six PAE offices:
- Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication and Space Intelligence
- Infrastructure
- Missile Warning and Tracking
- Satellite Communication and Positioning, Navigation and Timing
- Space Access
- Space-based Sensing and Targeting
Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, director of the Space Development Agency, was appointed as PAE for missile warning and tracking in May. Meanwhile, Shannon Pallone, who previously served as PEO BMC3I, has transitioned to PAE BMC3I. Additionally, Col. Corey Klopstein stepped into the role of PAE for Infrastructure after serving as the PEO for Operational Test & Training Infrastructure.
Tom Ainsworth, who is performing the duties of the Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, also revealed at an event in March that three more PAE categories will be established within the Space Force:
- Electronic Warfare, Cyber Warfare and Orbital Warfare
- Integration
- Space Control
According to Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, head of Space Systems Command, the Air Force is still figuring out how to implement the new organizational structure. He added that Michael Duffey, under secretary of war for acquisition and sustainment and Wash100 winner, expects to see the PAE structure to be in full operational capability by Nov. 27.
“There are conversations at the highest levels of the Department of the Air Force on what the org structure will look like,” he shared via Breaking Defense.
Ainsworth will deliver a keynote at the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30. He will join the event’s elite lineup of keynote speakers, including NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Lamontagne. Tickets are available here.
What Are the Responsibilities of PAEs?
Speaking at an event in May, Ainsworth explained that DAF based its approach to the PAE offices on “a couple of models,” including the structures of the SDA, the National Reconnaissance Office and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
“I won’t bore you with the details … [but] we ran down the list of all of the SDA authorities, all of the Space RCO authorities, all of the [Air Force RCO] authorities, everything that the NRO does, and everything that we can do on the Title 10 side,” the official said via Breaking Defense. “And we streamline all of those, and then we distribute those to all of the PAEs.”
He noted that the chief of contracts at each PAE office will have 89 percent authority over contracts.
In addition, the PAEs will chair capability trade councils established under each portfolio. The councils, Ainsworth revealed, will include warfighters to represent operations, testing and intelligence communities.
Meink also commented in March that the PAEs will capitalize “on the right talent, giving them the resources they need and empowering them to deliver mission effective capability to the warfighter faster.”
How Will the PAE Structure Impact the Space Force?
Lawmakers Move to Dissolve SDA, Space RCO
With the establishment of the PAE offices, the long-term roles of the SDA and Space RCO have become uncertain. The independent organizations, in 2018 and 2019, respectively, have traditionally been responsible for accelerating the development and fielding of emerging space capabilities.
The House Armed Services Committee already started work on dissolving the two agencies, according to DefenseScoop. The chairman’s mark on the draft National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2027 includes language that would eliminate the SDA and Space RCO, and transfer the agencies’ authorities and programs over to the new PAEs.
Future of PWSA
With the fate of SDA still unknown, some of the projects under its authority are being transferred to the new PAEs. Sandhoo shared that command of the communications portion — called the Transport Layer — of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, SDA’s missile defense and communications satellite constellation in low Earth orbit, will transition to the PAE for Space-Based Sensing and Targeting, Via Satellite reported.
Sandhoo will participate in a panel on delivering warfighter capabilities at the speed of need at the 2026 Air and Space Summit. The event will bring together acquisition officials from the Air and Space Forces to discuss what airmen and guardians need to maintain an edge over adversaries on the modern battlefield. Sign up today to secure your spot.
At present, SDA has responsibility for Tranche 1 and 2 Transport Layers of the PWSA. The agency has already deployed and demonstrated experimental satellites under Tranche 0 in 2024. The first batch of the PWSA Tranche 1 satellites was launched in September 2025, but the effort has been on pause since November due to technical issues discovered during on-orbit checks of the space vehicles.
Sandhoo said the Transport Layer will become a part of a new effort known as the Space Data Network, or SDN, which will provide the architecture that will link communication constellations.
Meanwhile, future tranches of the Tracking Layer — the missile-warning part of PWSA — will transition from SDA to PAE MWT. SDA already awarded $3.5 billion in other transaction agreements to L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Rocket Lab USA for 72 satellites that are scheduled for launch in fiscal year 2029.
Other SDA programs that will also move to PAE MWT, according to Breaking Defense, are:
- The Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared, or Next-Gen OPIR, a constellation of four satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit and polar orbit to provide missile warning capabilities. Next-Gen OPIR will replace the Space-Based Infrared System, also known as SBIRS.
- The Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking Medium Earth Orbit, a ten-satellite constellation to track missile threats worldwide.
Why Should GovCons Attend the 2026 Air and Space Summit?
The 2026 Air and Space Summit will bring together leaders from the Air and Space Forces and industry on one stage to evaluate the current warfighting capabilities of American airmen and guardians and identify the advanced technologies that will ensure that they can dominate any domain.
At the event, attendees will gain a better understanding of the acquisition overhaul across the Space Force and how it will impact current and future initiatives directly from the people involved in the restructuring. Ainsworth may discuss the changes in how the Space Force purchases new capabilities as part of his mid-morning keynote.
Meanwhile, Sandhoo will join the Win or Lose — The Speed of Military Technology Advancement panel, which will focus on the rapid delivery of advanced capabilities to warfighters at scale to maintain technological superiority in an evolving threat landscape.
Other panel speakers include:
- Retired Rear Adm. Ron Fritzemeier, director of mission solutions at Intel Foundry
- Dr. Kelly Hammett, director and program executive officer at Space RCO
- Chris Jones, chief technology officer at Nightwing
- Dr. Robert Antypas, space access, mobility and logistics mission area lead at the Air Force Research Laboratory
- Jacob Glassman, deputy assistant secretary of War for science and technology
Conversations at the summit will also span the technology initiatives the U.S. military is pursuing to secure and dominate the air and space domains. The summit’s panel lineup also includes:
- From Detection to Decision: Orchestration Across Air and Space Domains
- Connecting Constellations: The Case for Interoperable Optical Networks
- From Data to Decision: Advancing Multi-Level Security with AI/ML for the Modern Warfighter
- Commercial Space Relay: Achieving Speed to Mission
- Winning the Digital High Ground: Delivering the Department of the Air Force’s Network of the Future
More speakers from the Air Force and the Space Force will be announced in the coming weeks! Do not miss the chance to engage with the most important figures revolutionizing the way we fight. Get your tickets today.
