Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect at the Space and Missile Systems Center, said the Space Force plans to incorporate more small businesses instead of leaning on a handful of large prime vendors.

The commercial sector will play a role in every mission area, he said.

“In nearly every mission area, we’re looking for rapid tech innovation,” Teehan said, according to C4ISRNET. “We’re looking for hybrid architectures. And in a lot of cases, we’re looking for commercial partnerships that lead us directly to allied partnerships in many of these areas.”

Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations, has said the relationships with industry will start early into the new service’s implementation.

“We want to build a very fused connection with commercial industry,” Raymond said. “We’re a small service, and we think we can do that.”

Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes