The US may lack the engineers to rebuild space assets in a future war: RAND

Photo: Training Device Design and Engineering Center engineering technicians work with a manual turning center at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, June 30, 2026. Photo credit: U.S. Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ian Hawkes via DVIDS. Public Domain. Article by Thomas Novelly. Defense One – September 2, 2026.

The defense industry would likely struggle to rebuild the U.S. military’s crucial space capabilities during a war with China or Russia because it will have too few skilled engineers to do the work, according to a new report from RAND. Today, the country’s space-focused defense companies employ roughly 3 percent of its engineers, and competition for skilled personnel means many jobs go unfilled. If an adversary destroys space-based intelligence, targeting, and communications assets, that shortfall would likely keep the military from getting them back online quickly. […]

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