For decades, space-based capabilities delivered strategic value to the operational community, while real-time tactical capabilities came from ground, maritime and airborne sensors. This disconnect is rapidly disappearing in a long-overdue change. As space systems evolve from a strategic asset to a tactical necessity, Joint Force capabilities now depend on space as a vital source of connectivity and intelligence across every domain.
The U.S. Space Force’s “Space Warfighting: A Framework for Planners” spelled out how peer and near-peer competitors are rapidly developing capabilities to deny U.S. access to space. At this year’s Space Symposium, Chief of Space Operations, Gen. Chance Saltzman, concurred: “Just flying a military satellite communication system today doesn’t prepare you for the high-end fight,” he said, adding, “You have to win against the thinking adversary.”
For space to function as an operational domain, we must build it like one — resilient, interoperable and ready for conflict. To achieve “tactically relevant space” we need to advance in four key areas: real-time, AI-powered data processing; open systems; decentralized execution; and cybersecurity — together enabling an agile, interoperable mission capability.
Real-time data processing, visualization and AI/ML are operational necessities, not upgrades.
Active defense depends on near real-time threat identification, but the exponential growth in space-based and planetary sensors has created a deluge of information. Processing and prioritizing it at speed and scale requires AI and machine learning (ML).
An “operator-on-the-loop” approach, where AI/ML can identify critical data, run key processes and assist decision-makers, takes a fraction of the time of human-led analysis. Yet, speed alone isn’t enough. Insights must be easily understood under pressure. For example, presenting too much data on a single dashboard can overwhelm operators and delay action. Instead, AI-enabled, mission-specific analytics should filter and highlight only what’s needed for timely decisions. These tools must also provide transparency into automated steps, explaining what was flagged, why it matters and when human input is needed.
We are already exploring this approach at Outside Analytics, a subsidiary of SMX, where we’re developing tools that align data processing with mission timelines and reduce cognitive load through clearer, more contextual visualizations.
Operations span the orbital, terrestrial, and link segments. Open systems support all three
Traditionally, single vendors provide everything from satellites and sensors to ground stations and analytic software. While tightly integrated, these systems limit flexibility and exclude emerging technologies. In contrast, open systems can:
Negate vendor lock-in and allow seamless tech upgrades.
Easily integrate multi-domain sensor data for more comprehensive analysis.
Encourage innovation and disruptive capabilities from specialized providers
The move to open systems doesn’t have to mean “rip-and-replace.” The transition can be done in stages, as we are seeing with Space Force programs such as FORGE. With orbital, ground-based and link platforms inextricably bound together, open system mandates are necessary for joint operations and unfettered real-time capabilities.
Open frameworks, environments, and systems such as FORGE, the TAP Lab(s), and the Unified Data Library are demonstrating how open, modular approaches allow industry to collaborate across traditional mission stovepipes to meet the mission at the point of need. By bringing together operations and acquisitions communities, this approach fast-tracks proven R&D capabilities into real-world use.
Command and control requires flexible, decentralized execution
The Space Force’s adoption of low Earth orbit satellite constellations and multi-domain interoperability has strengthened resilience and enabled operations at the edge. Still, space remains a contested, degraded, and operationally limited (CDO) domain — where assets face constant attacks and environmental challenges.
In CDO environments, mission success depends on operators acting with autonomy and speed. That’s the premise behind mission command, a core tenet of Space Force Doctrine 1. It can’t happen with rigid, top-down systems. Systems must be architected to support local control and ownership. That way, operators have the flexibility to act on intent — not wait for instructions. This level of responsiveness depends on systems built for distributed execution — combining cloud and edge computing, coordinated data flows and secure access controls. The goal is to ensure mission commanders have the right data and context to make fast, localized decisions under pressure.
We’ve seen this in our own work designing systems grounded in these principles. When paired with open data frameworks and mission-specific analytics, this approach helps operators maintain operational control, even in denied or disrupted communications environments.
Cyber superiority is inseparable from space superiority
A cyberattack on any aspect of a space system can degrade situational awareness and readiness across all domains. As space becomes the connective tissue of joint operations, cyber becomes a mandatory overlay to all aspects — launch, orbital, terrestrial and link. A single breach can ripple across the entire mission, which is why cyber strategy must move beyond traditional offense and defense to become a core part of system design.
That’s why resilience has to be built in from the start. The shift away from relying solely on large, strategic assets toward smaller, joint-use systems that are cheaper, easier to replace and faster to deploy is a meaningful step toward more agile, cyber-resilient space operations. Our collective focus now must be on working with providers that embed cybersecurity at every level — through onboard zero trust, strong encryption and secure, trusted supply chains.
Space acquisition policy must adapt to meet this urgent demand
Space can’t support tactical operations if it’s still tethered to legacy stovepipes. The same urgency behind the Operational Test and Training Infrastructure program’s $600 million investment in synthetic space conflict readiness should inform how we update and upgrade space capabilities overall. This means ending vendor lock, mandating open standards, and deploying AI/ML-driven ops now — not over a five-year roadmap.
The Department of Defense is clearly aware of the value of commercial space systems that meet these standards, with initiatives like COMSO’s $13 billion ceiling and TAP Labs. But, without open system requirements becoming the norm across space acquisitions, we’ll continue fielding elegant platforms that can’t talk to each other. In a multi-domain fight, that’s a gap we can’t afford to overlook.
Ben Tarr is CEO of Outside Analytics, a division of SMX. With over two decades in national security tech, he’s led innovations in real-time intelligence, space-based sensors and mission-critical data systems.
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