U.S. Chamber - Support for COCOM Direct Access to Commercial Space Services

Dear Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum:

As the Committee considers Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ("Chamber") strongly supports expanding Combatant Commander (COCOM) direct access to commercial space services.

Both the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act and the FY26 Defense Appropriations bill recognized the vital role that Commercial Services and the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (TacSRT) program play in giving our warfighters real-time access to vital information.

Warfighters require both taskable and persistent non-taskable commercial Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (SRT) to enhance situational awareness. Investing in commercial SRT and other commercial remote sensing services will ensure operational superiority, especially in contested environments.

In a peer-to-peer competition, the Department of War must be able to augment airborne platforms and exquisite overhead systems operated by the intelligence community with commercial data and analytics-drawing on multi-phenomenology sensing, including synthetic aperture radar, radio-frequency sensing, and other relevant modalities, as well as fused multi-source and publicly available information-to deliver responsive, tactically relevant products to combatant commands.

Commercial services fill an urgent, unmet need for tactical, unclassified data that is not currently being met through existing contracts. Without a dedicated funding line, COCOMs must rely on ad hoc appropriations, preventing long-term planning and efficient acquisition of commercial solutions

While the Chamber supports Congress' actions to establish TacSRT as a program of record, the Chamber also recommends:

1. Comprehensive Scope: Ensure TacSRT includes all available commercial remote sensing phenomenologies, including electro-optical (EO), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and radio frequency (RF) capabilities to address operational and intelligence gaps.
2. Consistent Funding: Predictable support is necessary to guarantee COCOMs reliable access to commercial data and to encourage continued industry innovation.
3. Updated Language and Funding Tables: Reflect the full range of available commercial remote sensing datasets and ensure sustained funding to meet evolving national security needs.

These investments are critical to equipping our warfighters, strengthening U.S. national security, and supporting our allies. Thank you for your continued support of the commercial space industry's role in defending our nation.

Sincerely,

John Neal
Vice President, Space Policy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce