The U.S. military is eager to take advantage of small satellite (smallsat) constellations that operate in low Earth orbit if they can fulfill requirements at the right price. The Department of Defense sees promise in smallsat technology and is working with government and industry partners to try and reduce costs for critical services. This includes missile warning, tactical satellite communications and intelligence, and reconnaissance capabilities.

As a result, military organizations will require increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make sense of the high volumes of data coming from satellites. By leveraging AI, an agency would be able to identify vehicles stationed at military bases and airfields across the globe. Jim Crawford, Orbital Insight CEO and founder said, “We would get a much more holistic picture that would change the way we think about what our adversaries are doing and what’s going on militarily in the world.”

Read more: U.S. Military is Eager to Take Advantage of Smallsats at Scale if Price is Right

Note: OODA members can dive deeper into the topic of space innovation in the special report:  The Executive’s Guide To Commercial Use of Space