The U.S. military used commercial satellite imagery to track Chinese aircraft carriers and identify possible clandestine airstrips in Ecuador, while the Government Accountability Office found that the Space Force has not fully integrated commercial intelligence into its operations. The findings highlight both the value of unclassified imagery and persistent uncertainty inside the service over how to buy and use it, Defense One reported from the GAO review.
In 2024, imagery purchased by the National Reconnaissance Office showed changes over time in the locations of Chinese aircraft carriers and other ships and helped identify ship types at Sanya Naval Base in Hainan province. The imagery came from commercial electro-optical providers Vantor, Planet Labs and BlackSky under the NRO’s $4 billion Electro-Optical Commercial Layer contract, which was awarded in 2022.
The same year, the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations Cell bought imagery that helped U.S. Southern Command identify possible clandestine airstrips in Ecuador. The U.S. government shared the intelligence with Ecuador, and the Ecuadorian government subsequently investigated and disabled the airstrips, which GAO said were likely used by narcotraffickers. The findings describe the locations as possible sites rather than established narcotics facilities.
The Ecuador case illustrates a specific operational advantage of commercial imagery: it can be shared with a foreign government without disclosing the capabilities or collection methods of classified military satellites. Jon Ludwigson, GAO’s contracting and national security acquisitions director, said commercial imagery can also reduce demands on the military’s most sensitive systems and help cue other users without revealing that those systems are observing a target.
Commercial products can serve selected missions alongside classified collection rather than replace it. The report said the Defense Department needs private satellite imagery as counterspace capabilities from strategic competitors grow in number and intensity. Commercial data and services can help fill gaps, reduce risk to government-owned space assets and support information-sharing with foreign partners.
Despite those uses, some Space Force officials told GAO they faced licensing costs, perceived restrictions on how commercial data could be used and concerns about retaining long-term access. Those problems contributed to hesitation among potential users to purchase or employ commercial space data, the watchdog found.
The Joint Commercial Operations Cell spent nearly $77 million from 2023 through 2025 on commercial space services through the Global Data Marketplace, an e-commerce platform used by the military for unclassified imagery. The cell buys the majority of the service’s data through the marketplace, according to the review.
The cell also maintains a working group that discusses purchases made by the U.S. government. The group meets monthly, but Space Force officials were not included, and information about its activities was not widely available, GAO found. The watchdog said that many of the difficulties described by Space Force personnel could have been addressed through discussions in the group.
GAO recommended that Air Force Secretary Troy Meink improve communication about the working group and increase awareness of it among relevant officials. The Defense Department concurred with GAO’s findings in a June 18 response.
The report said broader awareness of the group could encourage Space Force and other officials to take part in discussions about commercial space data and services. Those discussions could address perceived problems involving cost, use rights and continued access, while improving the military’s use of commercial capabilities for national security purposes.
The cases involving Chinese naval activity and possible Ecuadorian airstrips show how commercial imagery can support distinct missions. In one, it provided information about the movement and types of ships at a Chinese naval base. In the other, it produced unclassified information that the U.S. government could share with Ecuador during an investigation into alleged narcotrafficking sites.