On Thursday, July 9, 2026, the U.S. Space Force completed the structural reorganization of its procurement enterprise, establishing its final three mission-focused portfolios to transition the service to a wartime-footing model.
Authorized via a memorandum from Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Thomas Ainsworth, the reform dismantles legacy, program-specific management offices in favor of unified portfolios run by dedicated Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs).
Nine-Portfolio Architecture and Assigned Leadership
The newly completed architecture groups related space capabilities under centralized mission leaders with delegated contracting authorities:
- Space Access: Covers launch delivery, ranges, and sustainment. Led by acting PAE Col. Eric Zarybnisky.
- Space-Based Sensing and Targeting: Directs battlespace awareness and environmental monitoring. Led by acting PAE Col. Ryan Frazier.
- Missile Warning and Tracking: Manages the Space Force’s layered tracking architecture. Led by PAE Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo.
- Infrastructure: Controls data pipelines, cybersecurity, and test/training networks. Led by Col. Corey Klopstein.
- Battle Management Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (BMC3I): Encompasses operational command software and networks. Led by PAE Shannon Pallone.
- Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing: Coordinates SATCOM and PNT programs. Led by acting PAE Erin Carper.
- Advanced Capabilities: Focuses on joint warfighting systems. Led by PAE Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy.
- Electromagnetic Warfare and Cyber: Covers orbital electronic threat mitigation. Led by acting PAE William Blauser.
- Space Combat Power: Standardizes direct orbital defense payloads. Led by acting PAE Col. Bryon McClain.
Phased Integration of Defense Procurement
The completion of the final three tranches (Advanced Capabilities, Electromagnetic/Cyber, and Space Combat Power) represents the culmination of a phased transition plan. The Department of the Air Force activated the first two portfolios in January 2026, followed by the second tranche of mission areas established in March 2026.
Under this decentralized framework, approximately 90% of all contracting authorities have been transferred directly to individual PAEs. This represents a deliberate policy shift to shorten procurement timelines, remove bureaucratic oversight layers, and allow immediate cost-performance trades.
Direct-to-Mission Procurement Outlook
By shifting from isolated platform offices to integrated mission areas, the Space Force aims to accelerate the deployment of proliferated constellations like the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Future procurement cycles for major initiatives, including medium-Earth orbit missile tracking and next-generation tactical satellite communications, will be funneled directly through this unified PAE framework.
