The US Space Force announced on Thursday, October 26 a new agreement with two Indian startup companies for research and development. The agreement will be the first ever research and development agreement with companies outside the United States which provides additional challenges with the CRADA going forward. One company is called 114AI which uses AI for space domain awareness, an increasing field of interest of the US Space force and their partners (government and commercial). The other company, called 3rd Itech, works on developing electronic technology used in space imaging sensors. The agreement comes as a time where the United States is pushing closer ties with India in the technology field including defense contractor for the Pentagon already having partnerships with both companies. The closer ties do bring more security risks in the cyber field as confidentiality of technology development from foreign adversaries continues to be an issue in the military. Especially when it comes to space domain awareness which can predict and track potential threats to space-based systems.
Source: https://spacenews.com/afrl-space-force-to-collaborate-with-indian-startups-on-space-technologies/