Changes in how global governments and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) partner with satellite companies and acquire satellite solutions are driving a new era of innovation for militaries in space. Coupled with the increased interest in space services and capabilities among non-traditional and commercial customers, this new approach to business will generate previously unfathomable capabilities that will reshape how the military predicts and responds to threats at a time when adversaries are becoming increasingly capable and sophisticated.

This was a key takeaway from a “Fireside Chat” with David Broadbent, CEO of SES Space & Defense, at this year’s Defense in Space 2025 Conference, held in late October in London.

Collaboration, not confrontation
When asked how, in his extensive experience working closely with the DoD as part of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), the relationship between the military and its industry partners has changed and evolved, Broadbent shared a reality that is increasingly collaborative and far less combative than in previous years.

“Both in the UK and the United States, [the relationship] has definitely evolved,” Broadbent explained. “We’ve gone through periods of combative relationships with government on the acquisition side, and now through a period of collaboration and partnership.”

This new collaborative approach has coincided with changes in how the DoD evaluates requirements and conducts its acquisition and procurement processes.

“It was taking two years to define requirements, and an additional five to seven years to get something into orbit. A lot of that was driven by the ossified layer of bureaucracy in the U.S.,” Broadbent said. “What the Space Development Agency has done over the past few years is quite remarkable. They eliminated bureaucracy and built small, empowered teams centered primarily on output-based objectives. Those teams were incentivized not to just comply, not to just work endlessly with the traditional contractors to come up with exquisite requirements, but by outcomes, and they were given much more flexibility in how to achieve those outcomes.”

Nowhere is this new approach to acquisition more visible than in the Golden Dome project – a multi-layer missile defense system being championed by the Trump Administration. This aspirational anti-ballistic missile concept would leverage modern sensors and effectors to deny practically any attack on the United States.

However, the Golden Dome is both complex and innovative in nature, requiring the development and deployment of numerous sophisticated and futuristic technologies, including space-based interceptor systems. To meet the challenge, the DoD has effectively abandoned its traditional acquisition model in favor of something truly unprecedented.

“Effectively, the DoD has told industry that we don’t care whether you’re one of the big aerospace and defense primes, or whether you’re one of the new space startups. We want you to fund your own prototypes,” explained Broadbent. “We’ll go through a lab process, and we’ll evaluate your prototypes. Then, on the basis of those evaluations, we’re going to provide cash prizes at certain points in the competition before conducting the down select. It’s a totally different mindset.”

The new, more collaborative relationship with the commercial space industry, along with this new approach to acquisition that eliminates years of embedded bureaucracy in favor of an outcomes-driven approach, has helped open the door for new, innovative entrants in the commercial space industry to work with the military.

“There is incredible new investment in space that is powering new entrants [that] are coming in with very aggressive investment plans,” said Broadbent. “[These entrants] offer tremendous innovation and the ability to implement and deploy at incredible speed, meeting our desire to move at the speed of the threat.”

But innovation in space isn’t just being driven by these changes in the DoD. Increased commercial interest in satellite services is also driving investment in new space capabilities that satellite companies may have been reluctant to develop in the past.

More customers, more opportunities for innovation
Historically, satellites and satellite services were developed and designed by large prime contractors on behalf of the military to meet its exquisite requirements. But that’s starting to change.

“There’s a broader customer base for the types of capabilities that were previously used by governments, and therefore the risk to investment on the commercial side is lower,” said Broadbent. “If the government doesn’t buy it, somebody else will. The whole investment equation has changed.”

This increased commercial interest in space capabilities is making the satellite industry far more attractive to non-traditional players. But this is only possible because the government and military are more open to using satellites and satellite services that also service commercial customers.

“Traditionally, you had large aerospace and defense primes that were driving the pace of innovation. They were typically on sole-source contracts that were consistently over budget and behind schedule, and it was impossible to dislodge them. There wasn’t a lot of competition in the market,” said Broadbent. “We’ve moved from that to [having] many new entrants in the space that bring their own investment. The reason why they’re able to bring their investment is [the military’s] acceptance of hybrid space architectures – the U.S. government being far more comfortable with using commercial dual-use technologies to address certain space missions.”

With the military increasingly open to using satellites and satellite services that commercial customers also use, there is a larger addressable market to which new satellite companies can sell their offerings. This decreases the risk for investors, making it easier for innovative small startups to get funding.

But this trend isn’t just benefiting startup companies and their investors. The ability to develop new space capabilities and sell them to a broader audience of both public and private sector customers is also incentivizing investment and innovation at traditional satellite operators.