Symposium Sessions
Meink Promises Rapid Technological Change for Space Force
Written by: Tom Roeder
Rapid procurement, lower launch costs, and game-changing technologies will put more capabilities in the hands of Space Force Guardians in months rather than years or decades, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told a capacity crowd gathered at the 41st Space Symposium on Wednesday.
“This is the moment when the Space Force comes of age,” Meink said.
The secretary is the first civilian leader of the service to have decades of experience in the space realm, including work at the National Reconnaissance Office. Now, Meink is pushing a proposed near-doubling of the Space Force Budget for 2027, with $71 billion to push an agenda that includes building Space Force’s industrial base and developing disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence into tools for combat.
“We are in the middle of the biggest technological change in history, or at least since World War II,” he said.
Meink, who was sworn in as an Air Force lieutenant in 1988, served in uniform as a navigator and test engineer for missile defense programs. As an Air Force civilian, he managed multiple next generation joint research and development programs transitioning global space capabilities, optical sensors, and advanced structures. Before he was sworn in as secretary last year, Meink spent five years running the day-to-day operations of NRO, using a growing number of assets in space to win battles on the ground.
“Winning next year takes production, winning in the next decade takes technology,” Meink said.
The biggest changes for the Space Force aren’t satellites or launch vehicles. It’s a giant shift in how the government acquires technology, with decision-making authorities passed from the Pentagon to offices known as Portfolio Acquisition Executives under Space Systems Command. The system is modeled on how highly classified programs have been managed by agencies including National Reconnaissance Offices.
Meink’s plans for the Space Force include rapid fielding of satellites to augment or replace Cold War-era systems used for applications such as communications and missile warning. He also wants the newest technologies, including artificial intelligence and satellites built to track moving targets on the battlefield.
“We must take advantage of that disruptive technology in order to win in the future,” he said.
But getting technology from the drawing board to space will require cutting miles of red tape, he said. That’s where allowing acquisition executives most familiar with programs to make rapid decisions, including cutting ties with slow-moving budget-busters, will pay off, Meink said.
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