The service announced the new unit structure, known as integrated mission deltas (IMDs), in September as a way to address gaps in readiness. The model brings a single mission area’s personnel, training elements, and maintenance and sustainment functions under a single commander and integrates additional cybersecurity and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operators.

The Space Force tested the structure with two pilot efforts — one that focused on positioning, navigation and timing and a second on electromagnetic warfare — and it’s now looking to scale it, SpOC Commander Lt. Gen. David Miller said Monday during a webinar hosted by the Mitchell Institute.

“We are in the process of going through the next set of what those will be,” Miller said. “My hope is that over the next year, we will complete the transition of all the deltas that need to be integrated mission deltas into IMDs in the next 12 months.”

The Space Force currently allocates operations and training to various SpOC deltas that each conduct operations for a specific mission area, such as missile warning and tracking or satellite communications. The structure did not include, however, any acquisition professionals responsible for sustainment and maintenance of capabilities — as those personnel typically work at the service’s acquisition arm, Space Systems Command (SSC).

Miller also emphasized the importance of including cyber and intelligence professionals as part of the integrated structure in order to better defend systems against potential threats. Therefore, future IMDs will be deltas where the Space Force is providing capability to combatant commanders that also need additional integration of space, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, he said.

“Missile warning and tracking — obviously we want to integrate the space, ISR and cyber capability that’s focused on protecting not just the Space-Based Infrared System and [Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared], but also our ground-based radars and the infrastructure there. That’s obviously a good candidate for an integrated mission delta,” Miller said.

During a separate Mitchell Institute event in May, head of SSC Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant said that missile warning and space domain awareness would be the next deltas to become IMDs, later followed by satellite communications. SpOC’s other mission deltas that will likely move to the new structure include Delta 5, command and control, and Delta 9, orbital warfare.

As for its two deltas that provide cyber and ISR capabilities — Delta 6 and Delta 7, respectively — Miller said he’s not entirely sure those mission areas should transition to the IMD structure, but added that the service is examining how those deltas should evolve for the future.

“That doesn’t mean that they don’t need to grow in the future and that there’s not capacity or capability that we owe them in order to improve their readiness and, particularly, what they offer the Joint Force,” he said. “It just means that I think primarily you’ll see [IMDs] focused on areas where we are providing or presenting capability to the Joint Force commanders either directly as a presentation of a force element or serviced retained.”

Overall, the Space Force has had some promising results with its two pilot IMDs that have demonstrated faster delivery of new capabilities to warfighters and improvements to capacity and lethality of systems, Miller said. For example, the electromagnetic warfare pilot has created new operational concepts that allowed SpOC “to meet more combatant commander needs with a forward base capability while leveraging an infrastructure back home.”

The post Space Force looks to shift more units into ‘integrated’ structure over next year appeared first on DefenseScoop.

Over the last five months, the Space Force has been experimenting with two Integrated Mission Deltas: one focused on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and a second on electromagnetic warfare (EW). The model brings a single mission area’s personnel, training elements and sustainment function under one commander while also incorporating additional cybersecurity and intelligence professionals.

When Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman announced the new pilot units in September, he explained the goal was to improve the readiness of the Space Force in selected mission areas. Now the service is looking at how to replicate the model with other parts of the force, SpOC Chief Lt. Gen. David Miller said Tuesday during his first call with reporters since taking the helm of the field command in January.

“I will tell you that my recommendations are in. We are having conversations about that with the service chief. He will decide what are the next candidates to do that,” Miller said. “Many of you know me, I’m pretty aggressive. You can imagine that my recommendations are pretty aggressive. We’re gonna go with whatever the service chief and [the Secretary of the Air Force] decide, and I think you’ll hear something about that in the coming weeks.”

Currently, the Space Force allocates operations and training functions to various SpOC deltas — essentially the service’s version of numbered units and commands — while sustainment and acquisition responsibilities are held by Space Systems Command (SSC). Under the IMD model, a SpOC delta commander gains acquisition professionals responsible for sustainment who will also collaborate with their counterparts at SSC — which is still the deciding authority on acquiring new capabilities.

While Miller did not go into much detail about his recommendations, he did outline some successes the Space Force has seen with the IMDs so far that have influenced his guidance.

For example, both the PNT and EW integrated deltas have been able to finish testing milestones at an “unprecedented rate by taking almost 10 to 15 percent of the total time that was anticipated to accomplish the milestones,” he said.

There have also been improvements in how the Space Force fields capabilities to U.S. Space Command, as well as in the service’s ability to rapidly fix, repair or address issues with space systems “by virtue of a commander having authority over all the sustainment and maintenance that previously were split between two commands,” he added.

Despite the early wins, Miller emphasized that the IMD construct isn’t one that can be applied across the Space Force. Rather, the model is best for mission areas that require forces to be presented to Spacecom, he explained.

“We have to centralize authority over both the manpower, the weapons system and the sustainment and training of those guardians and airmen to get the job done,” he said. “That’s just a core requirement when we’re presenting combat power to a combatant command, so I think it’s absolutely necessary in those cases.”

In others where a delta provides services specific to the Space Force or has a more tailored mission, it wouldn’t be necessary to transition those to an IMD model, Miller said.

“I just don’t think that in every case and in every situation you’ll see the … Integrated Mission Delta be a requirement,” he said. “Some of those deltas don’t need that. They still need to be part of Space Operations Command, they just don’t necessarily need to be integrating all those capabilities under one single commander.”

Updated on March 4, 2024 at 5:20 PM: This story has been updated to clarify sustainment and acquisition roles under the IMD model.

The post Space Force looking to scale ‘integrated’ unit structure to other missions appeared first on DefenseScoop.