A fivefold jump in the fleet is the planning assumption behind the Space Force’s latest industrial push. The service expects to be running far more spacecraft within three to five years, and it is still working out where the parts will come from.
The service’s top buyer, Lieutenant General Philip Garrant, has spent months telling builders to invest in plants and tooling ahead of the orders, rather than waiting for signed contracts. In April he pointed to the service’s $19B fiscal 2027 procurement account, saying fresh production lines and expanded constellations would take the largest share.
The tool leadership is weighing is the framework agreement, borrowed from munitions deals signed over the past year. Those packages carry no money at first. They exist to signal demand so suppliers can spend their own capital and be ready when awards land. Multiyear procurement is also on the table.
Where production bottlenecks bite
Erich Hernandez-Baquero, the service’s new space acquisition executive, told reporters on September 16 that lower-tier suppliers cut across mission areas and may need help. Optical inter-satellite links are the clearest example. Space Development Agency director Gurpartap Sandhoo said on September 15 that laser terminal production remains a bottleneck, along with focal plane arrays.
Industry has been cautious. A March report from the Aerospace Industries Association and PwC found manufacturers reluctant to fund facilities, workforce and tooling without guaranteed long-term demand.
