NGA's goal is to get through the bulk of the tasking under the $500 million Luno programs by early next year, NGA Director of Commercial Operations Devin Brande told Breaking Defense.
"NGA Maven is now available to all services and all combatant commands. There are 20,000 active users through more than 35 service and combat and command tools across three security domains," said NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman stressed that the commercial imagery the Space Force gathers will not be used directly for targeting, rather to allow commanders to rapidly understand evolving situations.
Both the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Missile Defense Agency are now testing NOVI's satellite sensor data processing computer and AI-powered software on orbit.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard promised to speed the delivery of intelligence products to users including Congress, stressing that intelligence that "come[s] too late, or it's not providing that complete picture that [the president] needs to be able to make important calls" is "useless."
"[I]ncreased situational awareness in the space domain is absolutely essential for NATO allies," Maj. Gen. Paul Lynch, deputy assistant secretary general for intelligence on NATO's military staff, said today.
Space Systems Command (SSC) in recent weeks has issued a flurry of contracts for the key hardware and software "thrusts" that make up the FORGE program, following a restructuring in 2023 that broke the effort into more manageable pieces.