§ 2271. Management of space programs: joint program offices and officer management programs

§ 2271. Management of space programs: joint program offices and officer management programs

(a) Joint Program Offices.— The Secretary of Defense shall take appropriate actions to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that space development and acquisition programs of the Department of Defense are carried out through joint program offices.

(b) Officer Management Programs.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall take appropriate actions to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that—

(A) Army, Navy, and Marine Corps officers, as well as Air Force officers, are assigned to the space development and acquisition programs of the Department of Defense; and

(B) Army, Navy, and Marine Corps officers, as well as Air Force officers, are eligible, on the basis of qualification, to hold leadership positions within the joint program offices referred to in subsection (a).

(2) The Secretary of Defense shall designate those positions in the Office of the National Security Space Architect of the Department of Defense (or any successor office) that qualify as joint duty assignment positions for purposes of chapter 38 of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title IX, § 911(a), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1195.)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2271, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 123, related to competitions for designs of aircraft, aircraft parts, and aeronautical accessories, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 821(a)(1), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1704.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Continuation of Operation of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVI, § 1606, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1176, provided that: “The Secretary of Defense shall continue to operate the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, and its existing functions and distribution capability, until the end of the functional life of the satellites in orbit as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2025] under such program.”

Study on Establishing a Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking Program of Record

Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVI, § 1607, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1176, provided that: “(a) Study.—The Secretary of the Air Force, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, shall conduct a study on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a program of record for tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking capabilities within the Department of Defense. “(b) Scope.—The study under subsection (a) shall—“(1) assess operational and technical requirements for tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking capabilities across the joint force, including requirements identified by the combatant commands; “(2) evaluate options for organizational placement of such a program within the Department of Defense; “(3) develop recommended acquisition and management approaches; “(4) consider applicable intelligence oversight, legal, and policy regulations relevant to the collection, retention, and dissemination of information; and “(5) provide funding profile options and estimated resource requirements to establish and sustain such a program. “(c) Coordination.—In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary—“(1) shall coordinate with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and commanders of the combatant commands; and “(2) may receive support from other elements of the Department or federally funded research and development centers as the Secretary determines appropriate. “(d) Report.—Not later than July 31, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a report, and shall provide a briefing on, the findings and recommendations of the study under subsection (a). “(e) Authority to Establish.—The Secretary may establish a program of record for tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking capabilities within the Department of Defense if—“(1) the Secretary determines in the study under subsection (a) that such establishment is advisable and feasible; and “(2) a period of 90 days elapses following the date on which the Secretary submits the report under subsection (d); and “(3) after such 90-day period, the Secretary notifies the congressional defense committees of carrying out this subsection. “(f) Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking Capabilities Defined.—In this section, the term ‘tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking capabilities’ means the capabilities provided under the pilot program carried out by the Space Force to use commercial data and analytics to provide surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking information to the combatant commands.”

Use of Middle Tier Acquisition Program for Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture of the Space Development Agency

Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVI, § 1608, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 587, as amended by Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, § 804(c)(6), title XVII, § 1701(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1969, 2206; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVI, § 1604, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1176, provided that: “(a) In General.—The Director of the Space Development Agency shall use a middle tier acquisition program for the rapid fielding of satellites and associated systems for each of the following tranches of the proliferated warfighter space architecture of the Agency:“(1) Tranche 1. “(2) Tranche 2. “(3) Tranche 3. “(4) Tranche 4. “(5) Tranche 5. “(6) Tranche 6. “(b) Rapid Prototyping and Fielding.—Any tranche of satellites or associated systems developed and fielded under subsection (a) shall have a level of maturity that allows such satellites or systems to be rapidly prototyped within an acquisition program or rapidly fielded within five years of the development of an approved requirement for such satellites or systems. “(c) Designation as Major Capability Acquisition.—“(1) In general.—The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment may designate a tranche described in subsection (a) as a major capability acquisition program consistent with Department of Defense Instruction 5000.85, titled ‘Major Capability Acquisition’ and issued on August 6, 2020 (or a successor instruction). “(2) Notice to congress.—Not later than 90 days before the date on which a designation under paragraph (1) is made, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall notify the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] of the intent of the Under Secretary to make such designation and include with such notice a justification for such designation. “(d) Space Acquisition Council Review and Waiver.—“(1) Review.—In accordance with section 9021 of title 10, United States Code, the Space Acquisition Council shall review each tranch described subsection (a) to ensure integration across the national security space enterprise. “(2) Waiver.—The Space Acquisition Council may waive the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to a tranch or portion of a tranch described in such subsection if the Council—“(A) on the basis of the review conducted under paragraph (1), determines that the use of a middle tier acquisition program is not warranted for such tranch or portion thereof; and “(B) not later than 14 days after making such determination, submits to the congressional defense committees notice of the intent of the Council to issue such a waiver. “(e) Middle Tier Acquisition Program Defined.—In this section, the term ‘middle tier acquisition program’ means an acquisition program or project that is carried out using the rapid fielding or rapid prototyping acquisition pathway under section 3602 of title 10, United States Code[,] in a manner consistent with Department of Defense Instruction 5000.80, titled ‘Operation of the Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA)’ and issued on December 30, 2019 (or a successor instruction).”

Matters Relating to Space-Based Ground and Airborne Moving Target Indication Systems

Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVI, § 1684, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 618, as amended by Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title XVI, § 1654, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2201; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1802(b)(1)(A), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1227, provided that: “(a) In General.—The Secretary of the Air Force shall be responsible for presenting space-based ground and airborne moving target indication systems to the combatant commands to accomplish missions assigned to such commands under the Unified Command Plan that—“(1) are primarily or fully funded by the Department of Defense; and “(2) provide near real-time, direct support to satisfy the operational requirements of such commands. “(b) Milestone Decision Authority.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary of the Air Force, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall be the milestone decision authority (as defined in section 4204 of title 10, United States Code) for space-related acquisition programs for ground and airborne moving target indication systems described in subsection (a) that are primarily or fully funded within the military intelligence program. “(2) Appointment of portfolio acquisition executive.—The service acquisition executive for the Air Force for space systems and programs shall appoint a portfolio acquisition executive, and designate an office, for the acquisition of space-based air and moving target indication systems. “(c) Initial Operational Capability.—Not later than May 31, 2025, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall—“(1) designate a date by which the space-based ground moving target indication system will achieve initial operational capability; and “(2) notify the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] of such date. “(d) Working Group.—“(1) Establishment.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Secretary of Defense shall establish a working group, to be known as the ‘Moving Target Indication Working Group’ (referred to in this section as the ‘working group’). “(2) Responsibilities.—The working group shall be responsible for—“(A) addressing Department of Defense joint service requirements for moving target indication systems; “(B) monitoring the cost, schedule, and performance of all efforts to replace the tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability that is provided, as of the date of enactment of this Act, by the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System; and “(C) developing the processes and procedures for tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination of the data collected by moving target indication systems. “(3) Membership.—“(A) In general.—The working group shall be composed of members selected by the Secretary of Defense as follows:“(i) One member of the Space Force and one member of the Joint Staff each of whom shall serve as a co-chair of the working group. “(ii) One representative of each of the following: “(I) The Army. “(II) The Navy. “(III) The Marine Corps. “(IV) The Air Force. “(B) Congressional notification.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a list of the members selected to serve on the working group pursuant to subparagraph (A). “(4) Briefing requirements.—“(A) Initial briefing.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the co-chairs of the working group shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on—“(i) any capabilities development documents developed by the working group that are either approved by, or in development for, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council; and “(ii) any progress of the working group towards developing processes and procedures for tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination of data collected by future moving target indication systems. “(B) Biannual briefings.—Not less frequently than biannually following the initial briefing under subparagraph (A), the working group shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the status of any moving target indication programs under development by the Department of Defense as of the date of the briefing. “(C) Sunset.—The requirement to provide briefings under this paragraph shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.”

Allied Responsive Space Capabilities

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title XVI, § 1606, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2931, provided that: “(a) Initiatives.—The Secretary of the Defense and the Secretary of State shall jointly ensure that responsive space capabilities of the Department of Defense align with initiatives by Five Eyes countries, member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other allies to promote a globally responsive space architecture. “(b) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022], the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Commander of the United States European Command, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, and the Commander of the United States Space Command, shall jointly submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives], the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report assessing current investments and partnerships by the United States with allies of the United States with respect to responsive space efforts. The report shall include the following:“(1) An assessment of the benefits of leveraging allied and partner spaceports for responsive launch. “(2) A discussion of current and future plans to engage with allies and partners with respect to activities ensuring rapid reconstitution or augmentation of the space capabilities of the United States and allies. “(3) An assessment of the shared costs and technology between the United States and allies, including if investments from the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and the European Deterrence Initiative could be considered for allied spaceports. “(c) Five Eyes Countries Defined.—In this section, the term ‘Five Eyes countries’ means the following:“(1) Australia. “(2) Canada. “(3) New Zealand. “(4) The United Kingdom. “(5) The United States.”

Limitation on Use of Commercial Satellite Services and Associated Systems

Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVI, § 1607(b), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2079, provided that: “(1) In general.—Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may not rely solely on the use of commercial satellite services and associated systems to carry out operational requirements, including command and control requirements, targeting requirements, or other requirements that are necessary to execute strategic and tactical operations. “(2) Mitigation measures.—The Secretary may rely solely on the use of commercial satellite services and associated systems to carry out an operational requirement described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary has taken measures to mitigate the vulnerability of any such requirement.”

Classification Review of Programs of the Space Force

Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVI, § 1609, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2081, provided that: “(a) Classification Review.—The Secretary of Defense shall—“(1) not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2021], conduct a review of each classified program managed under the authority of the Space Force to determine whether—“(A) the level of classification of the program could be changed to a lower level; or “(B) the program could be declassified; and “(2) not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary completes such review, commence the change to the classification level or the declassification as determined in such review. “(b) Coordination.—The Secretary shall carry out the review under subsection (a)(1) in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy and, as the Secretary determines appropriate, the heads of other elements of the Department of Defense. “(c) Report.—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary completes the review under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a report identifying each program managed under the authority of the Space Force covered by a determination regarding changing the classification level of the program or declassifying the program, including—“(1) the timeline for implementing such change or declassification; and “(2) any risks that exist in implementing such change or declassification.”

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