WASHINGTON ― Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman has taken to his bully pulpit to urge incremental development of new Space Force kit, calling on acquisition program offices to focus first on speedy delivery of “minimum viable capabilities.”
While technically he hasn’t the power of the purse ― acquisition authority flows through the civilian side of the Department of the Air Force ― as service chief, Saltzman does have the ability to set priorities and direction for Guardians to follow. Indeed, he has taken some flack from Capitol Hill in the past over a perceived lack of focus on acquisition issues and personnel.
In his first Commander’s Note (C-Note) of 2026 dated April 24, Salzman reminds Guardians that the White House, the Defense Department and the Department of the Air Force all are “driving capability delivery to a wartime footing” and that the service must embrace the changes needed to support this transformation.
He exhorted all Guardians across mission areas to “accept that pushing the boundaries of technology involves failure, learning, iteration, and imperfection. An 80% solution in the warfighters’ hands today is infinitely more valuable than a 100% solution that arrives late. Well-intentioned setbacks are not failures, but rather a means to learn and improve. In fact, taking more calculated risk in capability delivery can decrease operational risk in the end.”
Saltzman explained that Space Force acquirers and operators must work together to define and rapidly deliver “minimum viable capabilities” rather than “waiting to meet all operational requirements” before fielding.
“Guardians in operations units must work closely with System Deltas to define a minimum viable capability, and then continuously enhance it. We must hold each other accountable to avoid requirements creep. We must embrace a new mindset ― a sense of urgency ― rapidly pursuing smart risks, learning fast, iterating, and delivering solutions,” he said.
Indeed, the memo (the 38th in his C-Note series), notes that the Space Force’s acquisition corps is the biggest acquisition force of all the services in percentage of total personnel strength.
“We have the highest concentration of acquirers in the DoW, executing nearly $33B this year and preparing for future growth,” Saltzman said ― stressing that while the service is well on its way to acquisition reform, “it is critical for us to realize that the processes that served us well in the past will not achieve success in the future.”
Eric Felt, chief technology officer at the University of Texas at El Paso National Security Institute, and a former senior Space Force acquisition officer, told Breaking Defense that the memo is “spot-on” regarding the “needed cultural shift” for space acquisition.
“The message is as much to the operators/requirement owners as to the acquisition community. In the old paradigm, the operators often insisted everything had to be perfect before “ops acceptance” because they didn’t think they would ever get another bite at the apple for new capabilities. In the new model, the operators will accept a partially functioning MVP [minimum viable product] because they will get it sooner and know it will continue to be improved in successive iterations,” he said.
