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Testimony for the Record before the US House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Testimony for the Record of
Ms. Tonya Wilkerson
Deputy director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
before the 
House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Hearing
Hearing on Fiscal Year 2023 National Security Space Programs
April 6, 2022

Focusing on today's space topic, we recognize that changes in the space environment — and our nation's response to those changes — have been on the forefront of both the National Defense Strategy and NGA's own Strategy 2025. These changes represent both opportunities, such as lower cost of entry and the introduction of new technology, and challenges with a more congested  operating environment requiring greater space domain awareness.

NGA and our predecessor organizations have a long history of supporting our Nation's space intelligence needs and activities. And, as an organization reliant upon airborne and satellite imagery, we have always made a priority of being aware of activities in space and the associated opportunities and challenges.

At NGA, our efforts are spurred by the same sense of urgency that  led to the stand­ up of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Space Force. Namely, that Earth's orbit is no longer a benign environment, and the threat to U.S. national security interests from foreign space powers is real and growing. Our adversaries are not standing still, and neither is NGA.

The full testimony is attached below under Associated Documents. 

Associated Document(s)

Testimony by NGA Deputy Director Tonya Wilkerson, April 6, 2022
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