U.S. officials reveal: U.S. Space Force actions against China

Key Chapter Title List

1. Disclosure and Characterization of the Secret Orbital Tool
2. Payload Mission: Data Collection Targeting China's Space Observation, Surveillance, and Identification System (SOSI)
3. Technical Deployment Platform: Northrop Grumman LDPE-3A Spacecraft
4. Capability Positioning: Providing "Situational Awareness Indications and Warnings"
5. Addressing the U.S. Military Satellites' "Perception of Being Surveilled" Shortcoming
6. Comparison of Current and Future Space Surveillance Architectures: From the Space Surveillance Network to the "SILENTBARKER" Constellation
7. Organizational Scale and Composition of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office
8. Personnel Drain Crisis: Impact of Layoffs and Voluntary Departures
9. Hiring Freeze and Alternative Human Resource Strategies: Contractors and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
10. Resource Dilemma: Extremely High Per-Capita Project Funding Load and Organizational Vulnerability

Document Introduction

This report is based on the compilation and analysis of the non-public briefing content presented by Mr. Kelly Hamett, Director of the U.S. Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SRCO), at the 2025 Air Force Association Warfare Symposium. The report's core focus is on a secret U.S. Space Force project that is already operational in orbit, aimed at monitoring the development of corresponding Chinese capabilities. It also reveals the organizational and human resource challenges faced behind this cutting-edge military space project.

The report first confirms the existence and preliminary results of this secret project. Director Hamett described it as a "quasi-operational success," revealing that since 2023, a "situational awareness indications and warnings" system has been operating in orbit as a payload hosted on the Northrop Grumman LDPE-3A spacecraft. Its primary mission is to collect various data on China's Space Observation, Surveillance, and Identification System (SOSI) network. SOSI is viewed by the U.S. side as China's version of the "Space Surveillance Network," which means the U.S. intends to directly grasp the details and operational patterns of the adversary's space situational awareness capabilities.

On the technical level, Hamett elaborated on the core function of these sensor payloads: the ability to determine whether U.S. satellites are being observed, tracked, or targeted. He pointed out that although the U.S. military possesses various means, from the existing Space Surveillance Network to the future "SILENTBARKER" constellation, to monitor Chinese orbital activities, many U.S. satellites themselves lack the ability to perceive "being surveilled." The disclosed secret payload is precisely aimed at filling this critical capability gap and extending this capability across the entire Space Force.

However, the latter part of the report shifts to an in-depth assessment of the internal challenges facing the project's executing body—the Space Rapid Capabilities Office. As a small agency established in 2018 with only about 50 civilian and 20 military personnel, the SRCO is suffering severe personnel shocks. Affected by government layoff policies and employee voluntary departures, the office faces irreplaceable talent loss. Simultaneously, a hiring freeze forces the SRCO to rely heavily on approximately 200 contractors and Federally Funded Research and Development Center personnel to maintain operations.

Hamett revealed the agency's resource dilemma with a striking contrast: multi-billion dollar projects might be managed by teams as small as seven people, whereas in other Department of Defense departments, projects of similar scale often have project offices staffed with up to 500 people. This "extremely lean" model means that losing a few key personnel can cause a "disproportionate impact." This report argues that this case reveals a deep-seated tension within the development of U.S. advanced military space capabilities between the pursuit of "agile innovation" and "organizational sustainability." The fragility of its human resource structure could become a potential risk point constraining its long-term technological advantage and operational stability.