Space Force will not partner with NRO for next-generation surveillance satellites

The Space Force intends to go solo in developing a follow-on to the classified SILENTBARKER space surveillance constellation currently operated in tandem with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), according to a senior service official.

“The partnership with the NRO today is great and strong, [but we are] working to fully transition that [mission] to the Space Force for the future acquisition,” Col. Brendan Hochstein, commander of Space System Command’s new(ish) Combat Power System Delta (Delta 89), said last week.

“We’re going to leverage what’s on orbit today, lessons learned there, but also what we’re doing on the reconnaissance mission with RG-XX,” he told reporters on the margins of the Space Force Association’s Spacepower 2025 conference.

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