COLORADO SPRINGS – The National Reconnaissance Office, the agency responsible for U.S. spy satellites, seeks partners to accelerate its adoption of state-of-the-art intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
“We are ready to work with anyone who can deliver, government, industry, academia, allies and other partners,” William Adkins, National Reconnaissance Office principal deputy director, said April 14 at the Space Symposium. “By combining our respective authorities, capabilities and talents, together we will enable mission success.”
In recent years, the NRO has established partnerships with many firms even as its budget for commercial products and services has faced pressure. Still, the NRO remains a dominant force in the market as one of the world’s largest customers for remote-sensing imagery and data. In February, the agency announced plans to evaluate Australian startup HEO’s non-Earth imagery, London-based SatVu’s infrared data and Sierra Nevada Corp.’s radio-frequency observations.
The NRO has awarded contracts to more than 150 commercial vendors in the last five years. Those partnerships have led to “dramatic improvements in cost, speed and agility,” Adkins said.
Specifically, commercial firms have provided the NRO with radiation-tolerant microelectronics and enhancements in electro-optical devices, radar, photonics and novel collection phenomenologies. Companies also are working with the NRO on artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum sensing, quantum computing and cybersecurity, Adkins said.
“Just as importantly, we are integrating and fusing commercial data with classified data to provide our users, the warfighter and intelligence analysts, policymakers and first responders, with the best information possible to make critical decisions,” Adkins said.
Space Force Partnership
The NRO works closely with U.S. government military and intelligence agencies as well. For example, hundreds of U.S. Space Force guardians work at the NRO, “offering expertise in everything from acquisition to operations to intelligence and cybersecurity,” Adkins said. “We expect our partnership with the Space Force will continue to grow as the Department of War evolves its architecture to counter emerging threats to the homeland.”
Adkins said partnerships remain essential because “our adversaries are fielding new capability in months not years,” Adkins said. “The question is not whether we need to change how we acquire and deploy systems. The question is whether we are changing fast enough.”