Sydne J Newberry

The impacts of climate change and other environmental threats are increasingly perceived by the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) as a national security threat. RAND researchers assess the knowledge, tools, and capabilities needed by the acquisition workforce to infuse environmental considerations into DoD requirements, acquisition, and resource allocation decisionmaking.

A priority of the United States Space Force (USSF) is to improve vertical and horizontal integration and synchronization of space capabilities. To assist with this priority, the authors of this research defined existing challenges and recommended ways that USSF can facilitate the integration and synchronization of space acquisition and fielding to support the timely delivery of end-to-end space capabilities to the joint force.

As the U. S. Space Force (USSF) pursues rapid acquisition of warfighting capabilities, a key question is whether the streamlining techniques being used to get new space systems to operators quickly create mission assurance vulnerabilities. The authors of this report examine the techniques being used to accelerate USSF acquisition, the risks associated with them, their potential impact on mission assurance, and the possible mitigations.