U.S. Space Command Research and Development Support
Abstract
U.S. Space Command Research and Development laboratory program directly supports achieving the lines of effort described in the Defense Space Strategy and USSPACECOM Strategic Plan 2027: (1) Building a comprehensive military advantage in space; (2) integrating military space power into national, joint, and combined operations; (3) shaping the strategic environment; and (4) cooperation with allies, partners, industry, and other U.S. Government department and agencies by overcoming capability gaps that directly affect current and future space operations. This program accomplishes these tasks through five (5) lines of effort: (1) space-based effects studies and analysis to ensure mission readiness; (2) science and technology (S&T) and Research and Development (R&D) demonstrations and rapid operational prototyping to ensure space superiority; (3) performing space-based effects future shaping and campaign modeling via model-based systems engineering and analysis in the USSPACECOM J8 CAVE; (4) performing operational assessments to improve warfighting capabilities; and (5) building coalitions with allies, partners, and industry through operational systems and data integration. NAVWAR includes defensive actions that ensures the integrity and availability of friendly use of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information while offensively denying the same to an adversary. NAVWAR, the management of PNT information, requires a coordinated employment of space, cyberspace, and electromagnetic warfare (EW) capabilities, enabled by intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) management. Funds are used to develop and integrate NAVWAR offensive and defensive capabilities and to create and maintain NAVWAR knowledge, and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) to ensure NAVWAR superiority across the DoD. IAW the most recent Unified Command Plan, USSPACECOM is responsible to plan, coordinate, integrate, synchronize and assess, and as directed, execute global offensive and defensive space operations in coordination with, or in support of other combatant commands (CCMD), Services, U.S. government agencies, allies and partners, and as directed, other entities. These operations can occur in the terrestrial or space domains, or through the EMS. Additional responsibilities include advocating for and providing space capabilities such as PNT information to CCMDs, allies, partners and other entities, as directed. NAVWAR operations, TTPs, and expertise is developed and supported throughout the DoD in large part by the USSPACECOM's Joint Navigation Warfare Center (JNWC). The JNWC leads the research, development, testing and assessment of alternative PNT and NAVWAR options IOT advocate across Services and the other CCMDs to achieve PNT overmatch. NAVWAR expertise is developed in part by JNWC-led PNT Operational Field Assessments (POFA) that assess Red and Blue PNT-related capabilities, limitation, and vulnerabilities. GYPSY POFAs are linked to Commander, USSPACECOM's Joint Exercise Program (JEP) and nested within the Chairman's Exercise Program (CEP) and CCMD's Tier 1 exercises [PACIFIC SENTRY, SPACE SENTRY and AUSTERE CHALLENGE are examples] and provide operationally realistic threat-representation, and PNT-contested environments for analytical assessment of air, ground, maritime, space and cyberspace mission capabilities. FORTUNE POFAs and PNT capability and vulnerability assessments are associated with Service exercises or mission events. PRISM POFAs encompass all other operations, actions, and activities (OAAs) and other assessments to include evaluation and rapid innovation and development of NAVWAR capabilities and/or solutions to establish and maintain PNT and NAVWAR superiority across the DoD. Assessments inform materiel and non-materiel solutions, service acquisition decisions, capability gaps, intelligence gaps, TTP development and implementation to mitigate effects on warfighter operations in the anticipated theater NAVWAR threat environments. This effort is in Budget Activity 4, Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (ACD&P), because efforts are necessary to evaluate integrated technologies, representative modes or prototype systems in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2025
- Source ID
- 1206415F_4_3600_PB_2025
- Change Summary Explanation
- Increase reflects transfer of Program 1202140F USSPACECOM Service Support to Activities for Modeling & Simulation and Positioning, Navigation, Timing (PNT) to 1206415F starting in FY2025.
- Service Agency Name
- Air Force
Entities
Organizations
- United States Air Force
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