In direct response to recent directives to overhaul defense acquisition and catalyze innovation, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration announced the establishment of the Space Technology Portfolio Executive.
This new leadership position, aligned under SAF/SQ, is designed to accelerate the delivery of critical emerging space capabilities to the warfighter.
The stand-up of this portfolio operationalizes two pivotal SecWar mandates. First, it directly supports the November 2025 directive to Transform the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System . By consolidating space technology transition efforts under a single executive, SAF/SQ sheds bureaucratic complexities to ensure innovative capabilities are matured and transitioned at the speed of relevance.
Second, the new office executes the January 2026 mandate to Transform the Defense Innovation Ecosystem to Accelerate Warfighting Advantage . The Space TPE will serve as the central hub for discovering, integrating, and scaling commercial and non-traditional space technologies, ensuring the Space Force maintains its technological overmatch in an increasingly contested domain.
“We are no longer operating a traditional acquisition system; we are building a warfighting acquisition system,” said Erich Hernandez-Baquero , assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. “SecWar has made it clear that we must transform our innovation ecosystem to outpace the threat. Standing up the Space TPE provides the dedicated leadership necessary to aggressively transition breakthrough technologies from the lab and the commercial sector directly to our portfolio acquisition executives.”
In this role, the Space TPE will bridge the gap between the Air Force Research Laboratory, the PAEs, and commercial industry partners. Key initiatives include streamlining rapid prototyping, optimizing commercial integration aligning technology investments across the space enterprise, and fielding “art-of-the-possible” operational capabilities for the warfighters.