The Pentagon Is Transforming U.S. Commercial Satellites Into Tactical Battlefield Infrastructure

Contested battlefields can change in seconds. Vehicles move, targets disappear, and outdated intelligence can quickly place U.S. operators at risk. 

For special operations forces (SOF) operating in hostile environments, access to up-to-date geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) can dramatically shape operational decision-making and mission success.

The U.S. military is now addressing this challenge. U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is reportedly testing the web-based platform launched by Texas startup SkyFi, which would provide operators with real-time satellite imagery through integrated commercial satellite networks.

Commercial Satellites Are Moving Closer to the Frontlines

The U.S. government cannot always guarantee immediate satellite imagery coverage for every operational theater. Federal satellites may not be positioned over the requested area, collection priorities may shift, and battlefield developments can outpace traditional intelligence dissemination processes. To address these gaps, the Pentagon is increasingly turning to the U.S. commercial space sector.

SkyFi’s platform is understood to enable warfighters to request and receive real-time satellite imagery directly on their devices via a plug-in for the Android Tactical Assault Kit — a military tablet used for field coordination and mapping. SkyFi stated that it is building a “sovereign intelligence platform” integrated with SOCOM infrastructure and drawing imagery from more than 150 connected satellites to provide SOF with rapid commercial GEOINT access.

According to SkyFi CEO Luke Fischer, commercial providers can often move faster than traditional government dissemination processes. Federal GEOINT requests can take days or weeks to declassify and distribute to operators — delays that can negatively impact mission timelines and battlefield awareness.

The Pentagon Is Building a Hybrid Space Network 

Commercial satellite providers are increasingly helping to fill coverage, latency, and scalability gaps that traditional government intelligence systems may struggle to address in fast-moving environments. The Pentagon and the U.S. Space Force have increasingly emphasized hybrid space networks that integrate government, commercial, and allied capabilities to improve operational flexibility and resilience. 

American defense officials have also highlighted the importance of building a secure “outernet” architecture — a cyber-protected network of military and commercial space-based systems operating across multiple orbits. By integrating commercial and government satellite capabilities into a more distributed GEOINT ecosystem, the Pentagon can provide operators with faster imagery access, greater collection bandwidth, and more robust intelligence support during operations.

If the Pentagon’s goal is to transform the concept of a cybersecure “outernet” into reality, defense officials must establish stronger cybersecurity, interoperability, and resilience standards for commercial systems supporting military operations. Commercial GEOINT platforms integrated into frontline missions will increasingly become attractive targets for cyberattacks, software compromise, and electronic warfare. 

Interconnected Space Networks Must Be Built To Survive Attacks

Resilience-by-design and cyber-informed engineering (CIE) principles will become increasingly important as commercial GEOINT is further integrated into military intelligence architecture. CIE focuses on reducing operational consequences during cyber incidents by integrating security and mission assurance measures into systems during the earliest design phases rather than treating cybersecurity as a final-stage software addition. Resilience-by-design similarly emphasizes building systems capable of maintaining mission-essential functions even in degraded or compromised environments.

The Pentagon and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) should prioritize standardized cybersecurity, interoperability, and resilience requirements for commercial GEOINT providers and other defense contractors integrated into military infrastructure. NIST should consider creating engineering-focused cyber resilience controls, while the Pentagon should require contractors to incorporate degraded-mode functionality, offline capabilities, and redundant communication pathways into systems from the outset of development. 

As commercial GEOINT becomes more deeply embedded into military operations, the Pentagon will increasingly depend on private-sector space capabilities not simply for intelligence support but for operational battlefield advantage — making the cybersecurity and survivability of these hybrid systems increasingly critical to mission success.

Emmerson Overell is a project coordinator at the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where she focuses on threats to U.S. national security in the Arctic, space, and cyberspace.