Colonel Eric Felt says commercial space platforms are critical to maintaining the US technological lead

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Colonel Eric Felt, director of space architecture and integration at the US Space Force, said investments in high-priority technologies and commercially available platforms are critical to maintaining US technology leadership in the space domain, he said. reported SpaceNews Wednesday.

What’s so exciting to Space Force and the space acquisition community about all of this commercial innovation is that we can use it to maintain our technological edge and discourage conflict with our competitors, Felt said.

Speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association’s State of the Space Industrial Base webinar, Felt said there are space systems available that can provide capabilities to meet the needs of warfare.

Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition and integration, also sees the importance of accelerating the acquisition of more commercial technologies to increase the United States’ space capabilities, according to Felt.

His formula for going faster on acquisition starts with smaller systems and that includes buying more commercial systems,” Felt said.

Felt also noted that the Defense Department’s investment strategy can have a significant effect on the space industry, adding that it can either be super-helpful or super-bad for the industrial base.

Calvelli is ready to share his thoughts on how to transform space acquisition to outpace U.S. competitors at GovCon Wire’s 2023 Space Acquisition Forum on Jan. 18. Click here to register.

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