Critical intelligence on threat systems, foreign intentions and activities in the space domain is what the United States Space Force is tasked with.
The creation of this unit is important for shaping the future of the Space Force's innovation and technology acquisition.
Space Delta 18 will identify threats to the United States' space assets. "Non-kinetic" refers to anti-satellite weapons that use directed energy, signal jamming or other means to disrupt a satellite's operations.
Russia is raising concerns about space threats.
The National Space Intelligence Center will be run by Delta 18. Military officials said that Space Delta 18 will eventually be staffed by over 300 people.
Since 1993, the Air Force has operated its own National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson, but Space Force leadership has been pushing for its own dedicated space intelligence unit. The chief of space operations is John W. "Jay" Raymond called for the creation of the new Delta 18 unit in 2020 in order to meet anticipated demand for increased space intelligence at strategic levels." The NASIC intelligence squadrons will be transferred to the NSIC.
The United States Director of National Intelligence said at a ceremony marking the creation of the new unit that Space Delta 18 and NSIC are important for driving innovation and development in space.
"As the service intelligence center for the U.S. Space Force, NSIC will be well positioned to support U.S. and allied space decision makers at an absolutely critical moment in the history of space development." The environment will become more contentious in the future. NSIC will be relied upon to produce and analyze scientific and technical intelligence related to space for the nation.
As the anti-satellite capabilities of China and Russia have evolved, the need for such a unit tasked with collecting intelligence on space threats has been underscored. While Russia has conducted destructive anti-satellite tests that have created hazardous orbital debris fields, a Chinese satellite dragged a dead navigation satellite into a graveyard.
The United States' Navstar system of satellites that provide the service has been targeted by Russia.
"Make no mistake, space is a warfighting domain today, and an ever increasingly fought one at that," he said.
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