The U.S. Space Force has formally activated U.S. Space Forces Special Operations Command (SPACEFOR-SOC) at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, as the newest service component of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). It is the first new service component USSOCOM has added since 2006.

According to a release published by MacDill Air Force Base in November 2026, SPACEFOR-SOC organizes and presents specialized forces, known as SOF Guardians, to Theater Special Operations Commands and Joint Task Forces worldwide. The command took administrative effect on Oct. 7, 2026, and joins the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations components under USSOCOM. It is commanded by Col. Peter “Charlie” Norsky.

What SPACEFOR-SOC will provide to special operations forces

According to the Space Force’s page for the new command, SPACEFOR-SOC, also referred to as SPACESOC, generates, prepares and presents specialized Space Force personnel and force packages to USSOCOM to integrate space capabilities into special operations. The service says the command adapts Space Force expertise, personnel, training and capabilities to the requirements of special operations while complementing, not replacing, conventional Space Force missions.

The command will provide planners, advisors, liaison officers, intelligence personnel, enablers and specialized teams, and connect special operations forces with the wider Space Force, joint, intelligence, cyber, commercial, allied and partner enterprises. The Space Force lists its intended contributions as improving situational awareness and decision advantage, enhancing resilient communications and navigation, integrating space, cyber, intelligence and electromagnetic capabilities, and supporting planning, targeting, protection and effects synchronization.

SOF Guardians and Space Special Warfare teams

The Space Force defines a SOF Guardian as a Guardian assigned to a special operations organization. SOF Guardians include operators, planners, intelligence professionals, technical experts and mission enablers. Space Special Warfare operators are a smaller group within them, described by the service as the “deliberately assessed, selected, trained, qualified, and mission-certified subset” prepared for designated operational employment.

Through the operational capability the Space Force calls Space Special Warfare, SPACEFOR-SOC deploys small, modular teams that combine space, cyber and intelligence specialists. According to the MacDill release, these teams deliver mobile, low-signature space capabilities in contested and communications-degraded environments.

What Space Force and USSOCOM leaders said

Gen. Douglas Schiess, the Chief of Space Operations, said the Guardians of SPACEFOR-SOC are shaping how special operations leaders see the world through the space domain lens and are bringing space expertise directly to combatant command headquarters. He added:

“When special operators go into harm’s way, they do so with the confidence that the Space Force is securing the ultimate high ground to enable the Joint fight.”

Schiess was installed as Chief of Space Operations at a Sept. 3 ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, succeeding the retiring Gen. Chance Saltzman. According to the Space Force, the Senate confirmed him in August as the third Chief of Space Operations in the service’s history, and he is responsible for more than 15,000 uniformed and civilian members.

Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, commander of USSOCOM, described what the activation gives each side:

“For the SOF enterprise, this activation provides an enduring and accountable way to integrate space power into special operations. For the Space Force, it provides a direct operational connection to one of the Joint Force’s most demanding mission sets.”

Norsky said the ceremony marked a commitment by the Space Force to present specially trained SOF Guardians, equipped with SOF-peculiar space capabilities, to USSOCOM. He said the Guardians assigned to SOF formations in Space Special Warfare Teams “will be capable of integrating Guardian power at scale across the SOF enterprise.”

How the Space Force has built its service components

SPACEFOR-SOC follows a series of Space Force components created to present forces to combatant commands. When U.S. Space Forces, Indo-Pacific was activated at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, on Nov. 22, 2022, the Space Force said such components give combatant commanders a subordinate space commander, organic space planning and employment expertise, and space command and control focused on the joint force’s warfighting priorities. It called that stand-up its model for presenting forces to other combatant commands and said planning was underway for components at each remaining combatant command.

U.S. Central Command activated U.S. Space Forces-Central at its permanent headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base on Dec. 2, 2022, to handle space operations in its area of responsibility, including positioning, navigation and timing, satellite communication and missile warning. U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command and the Space Force activated U.S. Space Forces Europe and Africa at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Dec. 8, 2023, saying it would have about 30 service members.

Two more components followed in January 2026. Space Forces Southern, which became operational on Dec. 1, 2025, was formally activated at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on Jan. 21, 2026, as the space component of U.S. Southern Command. U.S. Space Forces Northern was activated at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, on Jan. 30, 2026, as the service component to U.S. Northern Command.

Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software flew multiple U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in a multi-ship formation on October 26, 2026, and carried out tactical beyond-visual-range air combat maneuvers, according to the company. Shield AI says it was the first time Hivemind flew several CCAs as a coordinated team.

In a press release dated November 9, 2026, Shield AI said the formation flight was one of two firsts for the CCA program within three weeks. The other came on October 8, when an F-22 pilot gave high-level directives to an FQ-44A in flight. The company presents the pair as a step from one fighter pilot directing one autonomous teammate to several autonomous aircraft maneuvering together.

Two flight tests in October

On October 8, the F-22 pilot acted as an airborne “quarterback,” Shield AI said. Hivemind interpreted the pilot’s directives and carried them out in real time, so the FQ-44A performed dynamic maneuvers and simulated combat tasks under the pilot’s control. AirPro News covered that test when an F-22 pilot directed a YFQ-44A Fury in October.

On October 26, Hivemind enabled multiple CCAs to fly in formation and execute collaborative beyond-visual-range counter-air tactics. The company said the flight showed collaborative mission execution, not aircraft simply operating in the same airspace. The release does not say how many aircraft took part, which aircraft types flew on October 26 or where the flights took place.

Todd Wesley, vice president of Hivemind engineering at Shield AI, said the company’s mission autonomy runs on each aircraft and translates human intent into collaborative actions. He said the flights also advance the integration of the sensors, data links and interfaces that the autonomy depends on, and that the aircraft and mission systems are reaching a level of integration that lets Hivemind show what it can do.

Software updates between sorties

Wesley said every flight produces data for the next software release. According to Wesley, the combined Hivemind and aircraft software release process is nearing the point where the Air Force can fly a sortie, update the software overnight and fly again the next day.

Shield AI credits the Air Force’s Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) for making these milestones possible. A-GRA separates mission autonomy from aircraft-specific functions through standardized interfaces, so mission software can improve independently of the airframe. The company says this supports competition and lowers the integration burden for new capabilities.

The company describes a repeatable cycle of develop, verify, fly, learn and update across its aircraft deployments, with improvements on any aircraft maturing the software on all of them, limited only by data handling restrictions. Shield AI said Hivemind’s common software foundation has been integrated on more than 40 uncrewed systems across air, land, sea and space, and that the CCA flights ran on that same software.

How Shield AI reached this point in the CCA program

The Air Force selected Shield AI as a mission autonomy provider for the CCA program after a competitive evaluation supporting Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) efforts, as AirPro News reported on its CCA selection in February 2026. In a February 26, 2026, release, Shield AI said the choice of Hivemind was the first time the Air Force had independently chosen both mission autonomy software and an aircraft.

The same release said Hivemind had completed its first CCA flight test aboard Anduril’s YFQ-44A over the Mojave Desert, including mid-mission updates and initial operational behaviors. The November 9 release refers to the aircraft as the FQ-44A.

On June 17, 2026, Shield AI announced a production contract for CCA mission autonomy. Under that award, the company said, it would develop collaborative combat autonomy behaviors that let multiple autonomous aircraft operate together under human supervision, reducing operator workload.

Shield AI, founded in 2015, also builds the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, according to the company.

What comes next

Shield AI said it will keep testing, assessing and refining Hivemind with the Air Force, and that data from these flights will feed that work. Lessons from each flight can be delivered as software updates, according to the company. The release gives no dates for further flight tests or for testing and fielding decisions.

Electra Defense has received a $4.7 million innovative capabilities opening (ICO) contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to fund ground and flight testing of the hybrid-electric power and propulsion systems on its EL9 ultra-short takeoff and landing (Ultra-STOL) aircraft. The work includes extensive ground testing of the EL9 preproduction aircraft and acoustic flight tests of battery-only, low-signature ingress and egress for special operations missions.

Manassas, Virginia-based Electra Defense announced the award in a press release dated November 9, 2026. The company said the contract is meant to produce performance data that helps the U.S. Air Force assess Ultra-STOL aircraft, and that results will inform future Air Force technology and acquisition decisions.

What the Air Force is paying to test

According to Electra, the ICO covers the EL9 and its hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Technical evaluations will look at aircraft performance, propulsion system functionality and operational effectiveness, with activities that include verifying key power and propulsion technologies.

The program also includes modeling and simulation work. Electra said this will assess operations from more locations, rapid dispersal of personnel and time-sensitive cargo, and reduced reliance on traditional aviation infrastructure and ground support equipment. The release ties the work to expanded operational access, distributed logistics and the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine.

Donn Yates, vice president and general manager of Electra Defense, said: “Power and propulsion are fundamental to unlocking new capabilities for military aviation.” He said the contract will help quantify the advantages of hybrid-electric Ultra-STOL aircraft, and described the combination of hybrid-electric power, distributed propulsion and ultra-short takeoff and landing as a fundamentally discriminating approach to tactical mobility.

A longer Air Force relationship

Electra said the award extends a longstanding AFRL partnership. AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm, said in a January 23, 2026 success story that Electra had received nine AFWERX contracts since December 2020. In 2023, AFWERX awarded the company a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) of up to $85 million to develop a full-scale pre-production prototype. AFWERX said that three-year contract combines $30 million in Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and other funds with $55 million in private investment.

According to AFWERX, Electra took part in AFRL’s Future Flag 25-3 exercise in September 2025 and completed government-directed tests, a milestone under the STRATFI contract. Electra introduced Electra Defense as a business unit for defense missions using the EL9 in December 2025, and the company has also won a U.S. Army SBIR contract for hybrid-electric powertrain, power and propulsion work.

The U.S. military is evaluating runway-independent aircraft for austere and contested environments, including the Indo-Pacific, AFWERX said, with hybrid-powered aircraft potentially supporting logistics, ship-to-shore transport and personnel recovery.

Where the EL9 program stands

The EL9 is a nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft that Electra says can take off and land in as little as 150 feet. AFWERX said the aircraft would carry 1,000 lbs. over 1,000 nautical miles and generate 600 kW of expeditionary power. Electra’s design uses a turbogenerator to supply continuous power to distributed electric propulsors along the wing, which accelerate airflow to increase lift at low speed, an architecture covered by its three US patents in February.

In that February 11, 2026 release, Electra said its two-seat EL2 technology demonstrator had completed flight testing with the company’s proprietary propulsion system, that first EL9 test flights are planned for 2027, and that certification and commercial service entry are anticipated in late 2029 into 2030 under FAA Part 23. Electra has also carried out a demonstration at the Downtown Skyport heliport in Lower Manhattan, which the company said is believed to be the first landing there by a fixed-wing aircraft without vertical takeoff capability.

On the production side, Electra has selected Springfield, Ohio, for its first EL9 production facility. The company said in a November 5, 2026 release that the planned Springfield plant is an $850 million development expected to support production of up to 800 aircraft per year.

Electra says it has more than 2,200 letters of intent from more than 60 commercial customers, and lists the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and NASA among its contracted customers. Its strategic investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell and Safran. The company says its Ultra Short aircraft offer 2.5 times the payload, 10 times the range and 70% lower operating costs than helicopters and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.