Next Generation Logistics

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TomcatViP

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As for Transportation Command’s interest in exploring the use of SpaceX’s Starship for ferrying troops and cargo to far-flung battlefields, Roper waxed enthusiastic — but cautioned that in the near future the only funding likely will continue to be for small R&D and exploratory efforts.

“But I hope that we won’t turn a blind eye, because I do think there’s really interesting thinking,” he said. “When you can launch an austere airbase in a space capsule, that’s frickin’ awesome! Just to be able to just have it come down, halfway around the world, with everything you need to be able to maintain and operate a small fleet of airplanes — refuel it, rearm it and get it back in the fight.”

“That may be a really awesome concept to pair with something like Next-Generation Air Dominance,” he added. “And if there’s not next-generation logistics to go with Next-Generation Air Dominance, then we’re going to be missing a critical opportunity.”
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You don't win a war without winning the logistic train race. At the convergence point of NGAD, Air forces and Space Force, manned & unmanned, heavily armored or air transportable, IMAR or Long range fire, blue waters Naval force and Marines, there will be an air transport command.
But what could it be tomorrow? What platforms?

Quote from Dr W. Roper, Air Force acquisition czar by Breakingdefense.com:
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/11/rco-to-manage-abms-buys-tankers-first-to-sport-new-data-links/
 
Take into context the Iranian scenario where C-130 were supposed to land in a stadium and then rangers make their way to the embassy. With Starship, it's nearly a done deal with a probable closer landing, to the nearest roundabout!

(for the reader that guessed, it's true that I am repeating myself here. Sorry)
 
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Obviously, it's becoming an obsession... But early simulation shows that it does work!

View: https://youtu.be/jIMNgI_XNxQ

1634136184327

This is a 300t landing vehicle on compressed sands.
 
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Astra get contracted $44M for 1300lb cargo delivery trial starting in 2026:

Astra, the once high-flying rocket startup that crashed back to Earth with investors before going private last year, has unveiled new details about its $44 million contract with the Department of Defense that supports the development of Rocket 4, a two-stage, mobile launch vehicle with ambitions to deliver cargo across the globe in under an hour.

The Alameda, California-based company, [...] is now targeting the first test flight of Rocket 4 in 2026 and looking to position the vehicle as a rapid delivery system for military cargo.

Chris Kemp, Astra’s chief executive, said in an interview the company intends to leverage its contract with the Defense Innovation Unit to demonstrate point-to-point delivery of about 1,300 pounds of cargo using Rocket 4.
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https://spacenews.com/astra-targets-cargo-delivery-with-rocket-4-in-pentagon-backed-plan/
 
Flyaway said:
Using Starship for special forces that’s a new one.
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TomcatViP said:
With Starship, it's nearly a done deal with a probable closer landing, to the nearest roundabout
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That's rather premature though as a fully operational, crewed starship is likely to be at least a few years off, there are MANY milestones that Starship has to pass in its' test-programme.
 
SpaceX Pacific cargo delivery test hits a snag:

The U.S. Air Force has suspended plans it had proposed with Elon Musk's SpaceX to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll, according to a report this week in Stars and Stripes, an independent publication of the U.S. military.
The suspension came after Reuters reported that biologists and experts said the project would harm many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge on the Johnston Atoll, an unincorporated U.S. territory nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of Hawaii.
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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...project-pacific-atoll-report-says-2025-07-04/
 
Space based large logistics is too vulnerable to potential loss costs even w/o human operational exposure.
 
Well, it will remain a silver bullet for long. Hence, cost of exploitation is not really a variable.

Long time ago, I use to take Operation Eagle Claw as a basis reference* to explain how Space based Logistic could be advantageous. Imagine you cancel all this desert improvised airbase and lands directly your commandos in Tehran soccer stadium or any large roundabout close to the then US embassy...

*something offset from any reference to the actual program, hence should remain pure speculations
 
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No more SpaceX or Starship. Rocket cargo moves forward with Anduril and Blue Origin:

The contracts under the Air Force’s Rocket Cargo program are relatively small — Blue Origin’s comes in at $1.37 million and Anduril’s at $1 million. But they could be the first steps in revolutionizing how the Pentagon transports cargo. Study contracts like these are also a strong signal as to which players will later compete for larger-dollar funding.
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the proposal implies Anduril will study how to develop a reentry container that can carry between five tons to 10 tons of payload from Earth and back. The listing, which can be viewed on SAM.gov, emphasized that the container needs to work with different rocks and the study should propose a thermal protection system. Anduril’s “payload container,” as the listing calls it, should integrate multiple government-defined payloads and work across platforms.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/anduril-blue-origin-study-transport-221137574.html
 
TomcatViP said:
Take into context the Iranian scenario where C-130 were supposed to land in a stadium and then rangers make their way to the embassy. With Starship, it's nearly a done deal with a probable closer landing, to the nearest roundabout!

(for the reader that guessed, it's true that I am repeating myself here. Sorry)
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But it's not likely that your Starship will be reusable after the drop.

Plus it's going to be really vulnerable in the landing.
 
I would think that retrieval would be the most difficult part of the proposition, assuming that the government would not consider the vehicle to be disposable. You might get 12 hours to unload before a hypersoninc rock drops on it. Frontline soldiers are now getting real time satellite data in Ukraine. Not long before everyone else is doing it.
 
yasotay said:
I would think that retrieval would be the most difficult part of the proposition, assuming that the government would not consider the vehicle to be disposable. You might get 12 hours to unload before a hypersoninc rock drops on it. Frontline soldiers are now getting real time satellite data in Ukraine. Not long before everyone else is doing it.
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In the specific case of the Iranian Hostage crisis, you'd have to fly out.
 
In a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) filing, SpaceX says Starfall could offer "access to microgravity and vacuum" for companies interested in space manufacturing and "point-to-point delivery of critical cargo through space on rapid timelines," which could mean missiles or military hardware.

No official confirmation exists that Starfall is intended for military use, however, the muted launch has circulated rumours that it could be used precisely for that.

The US Defense Department has long pursued the idea of using rockets to deliver large loads anywhere on Earth at speed.

SpaceX also already holds multiple contracts with the Pentagon, including one called Project Cargo, which envisions Starship delivering supplies across the globe.
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https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/...nched-a-spacecraft-almost-no-one-knew-existed
 
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