Brig. Gen. Robert Collins, the U.S. Army’s program executive officer (PEO) for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (C3T), has said the service branch’s tactical space intelligence program is a “significant focus area” in its modernization goals.
Collins told C4ISRnet in an interview published Tuesday that the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) initiative is aimed at establishing a scalable and integrated ground station to support multi-domain operations across the battlefield.
He said he envisions the TITAN system to leverage terrestrial sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate actionable data and support a multilayered approach to space defense.
According to Collins, the Army has been making progress in related efforts such as the Terrestrial Layer System for missile defense and is looking to continue training activities for the TITAN infrastructure. Speaking on the Army’s acquisition reforms, Collins said that concepts such as other transaction authorities helped the service rapidly scale technologies and apply engineering changes.
"I think there’s a lot of flexibility and we’re starting to do our critical thinking to decide how we approach each acquisition, because each acquisition and capability is unique," he said.
The PEO’s comments come after Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency (SDA), said the Army is the agency’s biggest partner in efforts to establish a multilayered space defense layer.