Article Link: https://spacenews.com/space-force-establishes-intelligence-analysis-organization-at-wright-patterson-air-force-base/

The Space Force recently established a new intelligence analysis organization, dubbed the Space Force Intelligence Activity, or SFIA. The SFIA is considered a transitory step as Space Force looks to create the National Space Intelligence Center, according to a Space Force memo. Created wihin the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the SFIA will be staffed by space and counterspace analysts currently at NASIC, with the intent to move over to the National Space Intelligence Center upon its establishment. Currently, the Space Force does not have the budget for such an establishment, and it is hoping to receive 20 million dollars from the 2022 budget proposal working its way through Congress.

The SFIA will act to analyze the space capabilities of foreign entities as well as their implications on, quote, US Space Superiority. The Space Force believes that this task deserves its own entity as to not compete for resources with the other parts of NASIC.

I am not sure exactly what data the SFIA and the National Space Intelligence Center will collect, and I may never know, but I have a hunch that the specifics of this data will be very sensitive. If the SFIA collects data about other space systems and compares them to our own, a data leak could reveal shortcomings in all space systems involved, including ours, so it would be beneficial to keep that under wraps. Additionally, while they are being fairly transparent about the general purpose of the SFIA, a breach that shows them going beyond their proposed scope could shatter faith in the United States Intelligence Community, as has happened before with events like Snowden’s disclosures at the NSA. Thank you very much for watching, and have a wonderful day!