14.02.2026
Meanwhile, the Space Warfighting Analysis Center is pushing the use of signals from communications satellites in low Earth orbit as a near-term alternative to GPS.
WASHINGTON — Alarmed by the ever-growing vulnerability of the venerable Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation to adversary attack, the Space Force has quietly been working to shape a future where US and allied troops have other options for navigating the battlefield and targeting the enemy, according to service sources.
Under a study called Project Hecate, the Space Warfighting Analysis Center (SWAC) is analyzing how to create a multi-orbit network of space-based capabilities to ensure US military forces have access to position, navigation and timing (PNT) data in the post-2040 timeframe, officials said. That study is expected to conclude in the fall, and the findings are likely to impact future budget requests for the service.
The SWAC, officially activated in 2021, is charged with crafting so-called “force designs” that flesh out the Space Force’s desired future force structure over the next five to 15 years and serve as the foundational blueprints for budgetary investments in new capabilities and kit.
Project Hecate was first mentioned briefly in January by Col. Neil Barnas, head of Space Systems Command’s System Delta 831 Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation and Timing (MCPNT) Program Executive Office. Speaking at SSC’s annual Space Industry Days in Los Angeles, Barnas stressed that “a key aspect” will be looking at how the futurenavigation warfare (NAVWAR) and PNT satellite architecture can beat the “range of threats” circa 2040 and beyond.
“We are very experienced in thinking about GPS jamming from a terrestrial perspective, and I think we are going to continue to see those challenges expand into space,” he said. “We need to be thinking about the types of architectures, the layered architectures. We need to be thinking about multi-orbit, multi-frequency, commercial, international. It’s a very broad scope within that study. And again, we’re partnered very closely with them [SWAC], so we can make sure that their plans are acquirable moving forward.”
Aside from Barnas’ comments, little information about Project Hecate has been available in the public domain to this point — with SWAC’s work in general taking place behind closed doors. However, in response to questions about the effort, a Space Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the aim is to give “Objective Forcerecommendations to the Chief of Space Operations regarding future resilient and robust satellite navigation (SATNAV) architectures, both for the U.S. and for our allies and partners.
(The Objective Force will detail “the what, when and how many for space systems, support structures and manpower — all of the elements of a combat-credible force” desired by the service, CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman explained in September.)
Quelle: BREAKING DEFENSE