EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- In an era of intensifying strategic competition in which the space domain is more contested than ever, ensuring the Nation's military communications remain secure and resilient is paramount. To continue fortifying its current capabilities, Space System Command’s System Delta 88 hosted a comprehensive, multiday Strategic SATCOM Reverse Industry Day event in partnership with the SATShow 2026 Conference in March in Washington, D.C.
The event served as a two-way channel, allowing SYD 88 to communicate its needs, and offered industry an opportunity to respond and showcase their innovative solutions. Reverse Industry Days are designed to help strengthen commercial partnerships and accelerate the development of next-generation capabilities for warfighters.
Setting the Stage: The "Why" Behind the Mission
The event began with an intelligence threat brief from Chief Master. Sgt. Ron Lerch, senior enlisted advisor to the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence. This set the stage, giving industry partners a clear, unvarnished look at the operational environment, adversary capabilities and potential future threats.
Col. Ryan Rose, system program director for Strategic SATCOM, followed up by underscoring the gravity of Strategic SATCOM’s task, describing it as a "no-fail mission that must provide communication links for the president and national command authorities." The high-stakes reality of the mission framed every discussion that followed.
Addressing the adversary threat directly, Rose said, "We know that China and Russia are deploying technologies to try to jam and interfere with our operations, and we are taking steps to ensure our system is threat-informed and responsive. In order to stay relevant, we must adapt."
A New Acquisition Mindset
The central theme of the Reverse Industry Day event was the U.S. Space Force’s new approach to acquisition, including its embrace of a “commercial-first” mindset. Historically, the Space Force has only acquired Strategic SATCOM capabilities from a small number of traditional defense primes, often delivering capabilities years later than initially projected. Space Force leaders have emphasized that transforming the acquisition process is a core warfighting imperative.
"This event is about more than just briefings; it's about actively seeking partners—from nontraditional vendors to our established primes—to foster a competitive and resilient industrial base," said Capt. Gerald Hills, the lead organizer for the event. "To outpace the threat, we must move at the speed of relevance, and that means leveraging open systems and embracing the full spectrum of innovation that industry has to offer."
This new mindset was echoed in the main panel discussion. When asked about the single greatest challenge, Col. A.J. Ashby, SYD 88 commander, said: "Integration timelines must compress dramatically given the threat pace. Our acquisition strategies are threat-driven and risk-informed.”
“To accelerate American resiliency and lethality in space, our capability delivery timelines will require a robust industrial base, supply chain integrity, and prevalidated security architectures,” Ashby continued. “The Secretary's Acquisition Transformation Strategy mandates commercial-first policies and embracing calculated risks to achieve greater speed and performance."
The Outcomes: Deep Dives and Key Takeaways
While the main panel set the tone, the real work of the Reverse Industry Day happened in the days that followed. SYD 88 conducted a series of intensive one-on-one engagements and classified sessions with industry partners to learn more about capabilities in development. These meetings allowed for candid discussions about specific technical solutions offered by industry and how they align with the government's focus areas.
From these deep dives, several key themes and outcomes emerged:
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A Consensus on Hybrid Architectures: There was agreement regarding the need for a disaggregated, multi-orbit approach with multiple commercial providers to eliminate single points of failure.
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The Demand for Speed and Agility: Industry partners understood the call for rapid, iterative development. Discussions focused on leveraging pre-validated security architectures, Modular Open Systems Approaches (MOSA), and innovative contracting vehicles to accelerate certification and fielding.
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Strengthening the Industrial Base: Frank conversations outlined the risks associated with long-lead times for radiation-hardened parts and the need to incentivize domestic production capacity. Supply chain security, from the semiconductor level to transportation and logistics, was identified as a critical problem that requires a robust partnership to solve.
Looking Forward: The Path Ahead
This Reverse Industry Day was a critical milestone that will continue to inform Strategic SATCOM’s future direction. The insights gained from the white papers, the panel, and the industry meetings are already informing the acquisition strategy for the Space Force’s next generation of strategic satellite communications.
By engaging with warfighters, operators, acquirers, and industry from the very beginning, System Delta 88 is charting a new course for acquiring Strategic SATCOM capabilities. Lt. Col. Joey Aguilo, space program manager for Strategic SATCOM, said, “We are moving beyond simply buying satellites; we are building a resilient, integrated and enduring capability with our partners to ensure the United States maintains the ultimate high ground for this no-fail mission.”