Inked by Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth during the annual GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis, Missouri, the MOA outlines the boundaries between NGA’s operations and the Space Force’s nascent Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TacSRT) program — putting an end to a two-year turf war over which organization should purchase commercial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance products and deliver them to combatant commanders.

“What [the agreement] really reflects is the quality of collaboration and every echelon that was necessary to work through these procedures,” Saltzman said in a statement. “I’m excited about this because of what it represents, and that’s really industrial strength collaboration.”

Whitworth first shared news of a drafted MOA with the Space Force in April during an interview with DefenseScoop, noting that moving forward NGA will work closely with the service to ensure the organizations weren’t “paying twice” for commercial ISR.

In a statement, Whitworth called the finalized agreement “a new standard for collaboration.”

While the full text of the MOA was not made public, the document outlines a “governance framework” between the intel agency and the Space Force by detailing the roles and responsibilities each organization has in providing commercial ISR to military leaders, an NGA spokesperson said in a statement to DefenseScoop.

Furthermore, a Space Force spokesperson told DefenseScoop that the MOA requires the service to collaborate with NGA support teams to “ensure data purchases and derived products … conform to consistent, mutually agreed upon National System for Geospatial Intelligence standards when applicable.”

The accord also states the Space Force will “coordinate processes and procedures for dissemination and releasability of products,” and submit a report to NGA each quarter that describes the service’s efforts to minimize overlapping efforts, the spokesperson added.

Disputes between the Space Force and NGA first arose when the service kicked off TacSRT in 2023. The program established a marketplace where combatant commanders can directly buy and rapidly receive “operational planning products” — including unclassified imagery and data analytics — from commercial space providers. 

Although Space Force officials have touted the success of TacSRT and begun efforts to scale it, the program caused some tension between the service and the intelligence community.

Under current Pentagon-IC policies, NGA holds responsibility for acquiring commercial ISR products and determining who across the government receives them. At the same time, the National Reconnaissance Office is tasked with buying commercial remote sensing imaging and sharing it across the department and intelligence community.

Space Force leaders have claimed that TacSRT is not meant to step on the toes of NGA and NRO, but instead serve as a complement to the intelligence community’s work.

During a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Saltzman said the program “fills a niche where you have unclassified capabilities that can get quickly into planners’ hands.”

Now that the Space Force has finalized an agreement with NGA, the service is expected to also reach a similar arrangement with the NRO.

When asked by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., about progress on the Space Force’s work with the intelligence agencies on Tuesday, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink emphasized that foundations for collaboration have been laid — but “the devil’s in the details.”

“We’re just starting to feel good now and starting to do experimentation with [TacSRT] now, using tools to allow that to happen,” Meink said. “There’s obviously still a lot of work to go, but I think there’s been great progress made, and the fact that we already have systems that we can start doing testing work and start doing exercise will be critically important.”

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Senators voted 74-25 to approve Meink as the 27th Secretary of the Air Force, making him the third and final of President Donald Trump’s service secretary nominees to be confirmed during his second term.

In his new role, Meink will be the top civilian official for the Department of the Air Force — which also includes the Space Force — as it undertakes a wide range of modernization efforts.

Meink has a deep background of previous military and government service. He entered the Air Force in 1988 through the ROTC program, and served as a KC-135 Stratotanker navigator and instructor, as well as a test engineer for ballistic missile test vehicles at the Missile Defense Agency.

More recently, Meink was the deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space under the Obama administration until he was tapped in 2020 by the first Trump administration to serve as principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, which is charged with developing and operating spy satellites and related technologies.

As Meink takes charge of the Department of the Air Force, he will be responsible for guiding both the Air and Space Forces through efforts to upgrade key systems and capabilities across all of their core mission areas. During his confirmation hearing in March, lawmakers asked Meink how he would address challenges with balancing the department’s modernization efforts with current readiness needs.

“One of the first things I plan to do is take a holistic look at all the modernization and all the readiness bills that we have coming. And then I will put together and advocate for what resources I think are necessary to execute all of those missions,” he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

As secretary, Meink will play a key role in continued development of key Air Force platforms and weapons systems — including the sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, the B-21 Raider stealth bomber and the troubled LGM-35A Sentinel missile program. The Air Force is also in the midst of upgrading its command-and-control architecture, AI capabilities, and cyber and IT tools.

For the Space Force, Meink will oversee satellite programs, such as the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. The service is also on a path to partner more closely with commercial industry, while also advocating for more attention to be given to critical counterspace operations. 

After he’s sworn into office, Meink will be required to review the Department of the Air Force’s sweeping reorganization effort known as Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition. The plans were introduced in 2024 during the Biden administration by then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and put into motion. However, early in the second Trump administration Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the DAF to pause work until a new Senate-confirmed secretary and undersecretary could review the initiative.

Matthew Lohmeier, who previously served as a Space Force lieutenant colonel but was relieved from his post in 2021, has been tapped to serve as Air Force undersecretary. His Senate confirmation hearing was held May 1, but it’s unclear when senators plan to vote on his confirmation.

Although Meink has more experience at the Defense Department compared to Trump’s other service secretary picks, his nomination did not come without controversy. Following a report from Reuters that Meink arranged a multibillion-dollar contract to favor SpaceX, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois asked Meink to provide information about his relationship with Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and key Trump advisor.

“These reports raise concerns about your ability, if confirmed as Secretary, to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force’s mission over Elon Musk’s business interests,” Warren and Duckworth wrote in a letter to Meink in February.

While Meink’s relationship with Musk and SpaceX did not come up during his confirmation hearing, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., probed him on rumors that SDA is planning to cancel contracts for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture and replace them with a sole-source award for SpaceX’s Starshield capability. Meink claimed that he was not aware of any such considerations, but said he would investigate them, if confirmed.

“One of the things that I’ve pushed for — particularly over the last 10 years — is to expand competition and expand the industry base,” Meink told lawmakers. “That ends up almost always with the best result, both from capability and cost to the government.”

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Troy Meink — who worked at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) prior to his nomination — also told lawmakers that the department must move faster on innovating new technologies, while also improving acquisition processes for onboarding new capabilities.

“One of the first things I plan to do is take a holistic look at all the modernization and all the readiness bills that we have coming. And then I will put together and advocate for what resources I think are necessary to execute all of those missions,” Meink said Thursday during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Both during his testimony and in responses to advance policy questions prior to the hearing, Meink emphasized that the Air Force is at an inflection point as it works to upgrade key systems and capabilities across all of its core mission areas.

The service is responsible for modernizing two legs of the nuclear triad with its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber and its replacement for the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system known as the LGM-35A Sentinel. Other high-cost efforts include the Air Force’s next-generation fighter platforms — such as the F-47 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones — new command-and-control capabilities and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems.

Managing those efforts with ongoing readiness and maintenance requirements would be his top priority — and a significant challenge — if confirmed, Meink told lawmakers.

“We also need to balance today’s requirements with the need to modernize and maintain future readiness, deterrence and lethality,” Meink wrote in his written responses to lawmakers’ questions. “Manage short-term risk to readiness to modernize and prepare our forces for mid-to-long term and enduring strategic missions as well as acute and persistent threats.”

Meink also pledged to improve the Air Force’s ability to innovate on new technologies for warfighters, adding that his previous experience at the NRO and in other leadership positions at the Pentagon would help him do so.

“I spent the last decade increasing competition and expanding the industry base, which has significantly accelerated delivery capability and at a lower cost. I intend to bring that same drive for innovation to the department,” he said.

Prior to being tapped by Trump in January to serve as the next secretary of the Air Force, Meink spent four years as principal deputy director of the NRO — the spy agency responsible for intelligence space systems. He was also previously the organization’s director of geospatial intelligence systems and held numerous other positions focused on the space domain.

Meink said growing the Space Force would be among his top priorities if he’s confirmed.

“Space is critical. This is actually one of the areas that we’re most challenged, I believe,” Meink said in response to questions from Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. “From the rapidly evolving threat from China and others — both the direct threat to our systems, as well as the threat those systems pose to operations across the department in general.”

However, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., probed Meink on rumors that the Space Development Agency (SDA) is planning to cancel contracts for Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 of the transport layer in the Proliferated Space Warfighter Architecture (PWSA) and instead award a sole-source contract to SpaceX for its Starshield capability. Cramer added that, if true, such plans would mean at least eight mid-sized space vendors would not be allowed to bid on the contracts.

Meink’s alleged ties to Elon Musk’s SpaceX have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the nominee claimed that he was unaware of any considerations to replacing current contracts with Starshield but would investigate them if he’s confirmed.

Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems are on contract to build some of the satellites under the Tranche 2 transport layer, while a separate contract previously awarded to York and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems is being re-competed following a protest bid. The agency is currently gearing up to formally begin bidding for Tranche 3 of the transport layer this year.

“One of the things that I’ve pushed for — particularly over the last 10 years — is to expand competition and expand the industry base,” Meink said. “That ends up almost always with the best result, both from capability and cost to the government.”

In a statement to DefenseScoop, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said the department and the Space Force are working with the Office of the Secretary of Defense to review all acquisition programs under the fiscal 2026 budget process, and that no decision has been made regarding Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 of the transport layer.

“The DAF and [Space Force] are committed to the efficient use of taxpayer dollars and maximizing the delivery of capability to the joint warfighter,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to sharing the status of our acquisition programs with our stakeholders in Congress and elsewhere when the FY26 budget is delivered in the coming months.”

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The directive — first reported by Air and Space Forces Magazine — was issued Thursday and effectively puts several plans under the so-called Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition already in motion on hold, including work on standing up an Integrated Capabilities Command and Space Futures Command. The order will not require actions already taken under the effort to be reversed, the spokesperson said.

“The planning pause remains in effect until a Senate-confirmed Secretary and Under Secretary of the Air Force are in place and have the opportunity to review the initiatives,” the DAF spokesperson told DefenseScoop in a statement. “The Department of the Air Force welcomes the opportunity for our new leaders to assess all ongoing actions and ensure compliance with DoD directives. We will issue clarifying guidance, as necessary.”

Spearheaded by then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and unveiled in February 2024, the Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition is a broad plan to reorganize the department to prepare the Air and Space Force’s readiness and warfighting capabilities for potential conflict with U.S. adversaries. The initiative included a list of 24 near- and long-term efforts, such as department reorganizations and new commands.

Among those action items included the creation of an Integrated Capabilities Command (ICC), which would create a single organization for generating requirements for new warfighting capabilities. The service announced in September that it had created a “provisional” ICC as it worked to stand up a complete office.

The Space Force is also set to get a new field command — dubbed Space Futures Command — that would focus on evaluating future threat environments, validating warfighting concepts and conducting data-driven analytics on mission area designs. The Department of the Air Force had previously stated that they would stand up the new command sometime in 2025.

Other efforts that were underway include the elevation of Air Forces Cyber, reorganization of Air Force Material Command and more. Meanwhile, preparation for the service’s major exercise known as Resolute Force Pacific will not be affected by the pause order, according to an Air Force spokesperson.

“Exercise Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), which will assess the Air Force’s readiness to operate in a contested, dynamic environment against high-end threats, is not impacted by the Secretary of Defense’s recent order to temporarily pause planning. This exercise, a first of its kind since the Cold War, is intended to test the Air Force’s ability to move large amounts of people, equipment, and resources into the Pacific theater at speed and scale. REFORPAC is well-aligned with the Department of Defense’s priorities of enhancing warrior ethos and credible deterrence,” the spokesperson said.

The fate of the Department of the Air Force’s reorganization efforts must wait until new leadership is confirmed by Congress. Those confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled. President Donald Trump nominated Troy Meink, current deputy of the National Reconnaissance Office, to serve as the DAF’s next secretary. Matthew Lohmeier, who previously served as a Space Force lieutenant colonel but was relieved from his post in 2021, has been tapped to serve as the DAF’s undersecretary.

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The former and future commander-in-chief announced his pick Thursday on Truth Social.

“Troy will work with our incredible Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to ensure that our Nation’s Air Force is the most effective and deadly force in the World, as we secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump wrote.

As the civilian head of the Department of the Air Force — which also includes the Space Force — Meink would be responsible for leading the service during a period of wide-ranging modernization. If confirmed by the Senate, he’d be expected to play a key role in deciding the future of the Next-Generation Air Dominance program. The department is also pursuing Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the B-21 stealth bomber, a Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, AI capabilities, modernized cyber and IT tools, and the DAF Battle Network, among other technologies.

Meink has been serving as principal deputy director of NRO, a position he was appointed to during the first Trump administration in 2020. In that role, he was tasked with “overall day-to-day management of the NRO, with decision responsibility as delegated by the Director,” according to his agency bio.

NRO develops, acquires, launches and operates satellites and ground systems “to see, hear, and sense threats around the world in real time,” according to the organization’s website.

In a prior assignment for the spy agency, Meink was director of geospatial intelligence systems acquisition, overseeing a budget of more than $15 billion.

He also has extensive experience working for the Air Force. He joined the service in 1988 via an ROTC program. Early in his military career he served as a KC-135 tanker navigator and instructor. He completed eight combat and 29 combat support missions during Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort, according to his old Air Force bio.

While serving as a civilian official in the Air Force, he managed “multiple next generation joint research and development programs transitioning global space capabilities, optical sensors, and advanced structures” into Defense Department operations, per his bio. “He subsequently led development for the Military Satellite Communications Joint Program Office and served as program director for the Transformational Satellite Communications System.”

He was also deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space and director, executive agent for space staff; director of the communications directorate in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for networks and information integration; and NRO’s director of signal intelligence systems acquisition.

Meink’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

His expected selection was previously reported by other news outlets on Thursday prior to Trump’s announcement.

Trump continues to fill out his Pentagon roster. His pick for secretary of defense, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, had his confirmation hearing earlier this week.

The president-elect has also chosen billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to be deputy secretary of defense; Daniel Driscoll to be secretary of the Army; John Phelan to be secretary of the Navy; Michael Duffey to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Emil Michael to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; and Elbridge “Bridge” Colby to be undersecretary of defense for policy.

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