Insider Brief:
- The Pentagon is updating its longstanding policy on maintaining secrecy around military space programs to enhance collaboration with allies and commercial partners while addressing the evolving threat landscape.
- The move confirms the Pentagon’s recognition of the importance of agility, collaboration, and leveraging commercial space capabilities in responding to space threats.
- The U.S. Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) continue to safeguard certain details while engaging in contracts with commercial satellite operators for unclassified data.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks recently signed a memo to update the Pentagon’s longstanding policy on maintaining secrecy around military space programs. The move, announced by John Plumb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, aims to enhance collaboration with allies and commercial partners while addressing the evolving threat landscape, particularly from China.
The policy shift involves “declassification, not unclassification,” enabling the sharing of sensitive information with individuals holding lower security clearances and confirms the Pentagon’s recognition of the importance of agility, collaboration, and leveraging commercial space capabilities in responding to space threats.
The Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) continue to safeguard certain details while engaging in contracts with commercial satellite operators for unclassified data, emphasizing the value of information-sharing in deterrence and operational effectiveness.
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