In a statement released Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) signaled a definitive shift from theoretical interest to operational planning for cislunar space. Thomas Ainsworth, performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, confirmed at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference that the service is actively integrating the region between Earth’s orbit and the Moon into its core mission and acquisition frameworks.
This strategic pivot follows a January 2026 White House Executive Order, “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” which mandated the Department of Defense to establish capabilities for detecting and countering threats within the cislunar regime.
Restructuring for Deep-Space Acquisition
The transition to cislunar operations coincides with a fundamental overhaul of the Space Force’s procurement model. The service has officially designated a second tranche of Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs), moving away from the traditional Program Executive Officer (PEO) structure.
The new PAE portfolios are designed to consolidate authority across mission-thread categories rather than isolated platforms. Key portfolios impacting future cislunar infrastructure include:
- BMC3I: Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, and Space Intelligence.
- SATCOM and PNT: Focused on resilient communications and navigation beyond Geostationary Orbit (GEO).
- Infrastructure: Managing the data and testing environments required for long-range orbital dynamics.
The Integration PAE will serve as the primary focal point for maturing technologies—such as specialized sensors and high-endurance propulsion—necessary for the 238,000-mile transit to the lunar vicinity.
Protecting the Emerging Lunar Economy
The Space Force’s increased focus is driven by the rapid expansion of the lunar economy. With NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission approaching and a surge in commercial lunar lander activity, the cislunar domain is no longer a scientific frontier but a critical economic and strategic corridor.
The service identifies the need for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) in this region as a top priority. Current efforts, such as the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Oracle program, are being utilized as foundational blueprints for future “Blue Water” space operations that require tracking objects in complex multi-body gravitational environments.
Foundation for the 2040 Objective Force
Ainsworth noted that the service is currently codifying these requirements into the “Objective Force” document, a long-term roadmap through 2040. This plan envisions a sustained military presence that provides foundational Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and telecommunications infrastructure to support allied interests.
By 2028, the Space Force aims to have moved from the current “planning” phase into the deployment of initial cislunar SDA sensors, ensuring that as human and commercial activity scales, the U.S. maintains the ability to characterize and respond to activities in the Earth-Moon system.
