For the last few years, through a little-known program called Kronos, the Space Force has been consolidating and modernizing its suite of legacy systems that provide satellite operators with intelligence tools and command-and-control capabilities.

Now, USSF is reaching out to commercial firms to prototype and integrate new battle management tools on a faster and more continuous cadence to match the growing threats in orbit.

In a Nov. 12 commercial solutions opening, the Space Force said it is looking for a “broad range of solutions” across three areas: command and control, battle management, and space intelligence. These include advanced cloud-native services and infrastructure, AI decision support tools, and a “space attack planning toolkit” meant to improve coordination between tactical and operational units and speed up decision-making processes. 

The goal, according to a Space Systems Command spokesperson, is to “rapidly bring commercial innovation” to the existing Kronos suite, which is being used today by the National Space Defense Center, Space Force component commands, and the multinational Combined Space Operations Center. SSC declined to name specific companies involved with the effort but said the vendor list includes “a broad mix of industry partners,” some with more traditional defense backgrounds and some newer to the scene.

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