To that end, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks recently approved a new policy to reduce the “classification” of some of the Pentagon’s top-secret space programs and technologies.
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| Some officials at the Pentagon have called for a new declassification policy for space programs. (Source: United Launch Alliance) |
According to DoD Assistant Secretary for Space Policy John Plumb, these information-sharing ban policies are outdated and are hindering the US from achieving superiority in space.
“In general, some of the classified material is 20 years old and it no longer applies to the current environment regarding national security in space,” Mr. Plumb said.
Of course, the new policy does not mean that US programs and technologies will be completely declassified and disclosed to the public.
Instead, the Pentagon will downgrade their “classified” status to share some technologies and programs with private industry and international allies to help the US build “an advantage that neither China nor Russia can match,” Mr. Plumb said in a DoD statement.
The new move would also allow individual branches of the US armed forces to decide their own “secret” classification level for documents, rather than applying a blanket DoD policy to all military space programs and technologies.
One of the key issues driving the policy change was the use of what are known as Special Access Programs (SAPs), strict security regulations related to the sharing of highly sensitive and classified information.
Some of the contents of SAP are acknowledged, meaning their existence is known to the public but the details have not been disclosed. However, many others are not acknowledged, meaning their existence remains a secret.
Mr. Plumb argued that the new policy would eliminate SAPs for some of the Pentagon’s most valuable space programs, giving the U.S. military an advantage in what the Defense Department now considers “the most critical area” in terms of national security.
Some officials at the Pentagon have called for such a new declassification policy for years, arguing that overly strict classification has prevented the use of advanced military capabilities to deter attacks from enemies.
In a rare disclosure, the US Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office have revealed a range of capabilities for the Silent Barker "surveillance" satellite due to launch by United Launch Alliance in September 2023.
Before launch, they told the public that Silent Barker was designed to track satellites and spacecraft. At the time, Lieutenant General Michael Guetlein, commander of the US Space Force, noted that the disclosure was designed to help prevent attacks on US satellites.
However, to date, the capabilities and exact specifications of many US military and intelligence satellites remain unknown.
(according to Space)
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