12 January 2026 of the National Intelligence Service (NRO), which develops, builds, launches and operates a fleet of United States intelligence-gathering satellites, providing an image, radio intelligence and other data to military commanders, politicians and intelligence analysts, appointed Bill Adkins as Chief Deputy Director. Adkins will be responsible for the operational management of the NRO, will make key decisions within the powers delegated by the director, in particular, regarding the management of classified intelligence satellite programs, large procurement and development projects, partnerships with commercial space companies. Prior to his appointment, Adkins served for many years on the professional staff of the Subcommittee on Defense of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, where he led oversight and legislative work on NROs, US Space Force, Space Command, that, NSA and Cyber Command.
Although the NRO is part of the intelligence community, its activities are closely coordinated with the US Space Force, which are responsible for protecting national space security systems and integrating space capabilities into military operations. This cooperation has intensified in recent years, as both organizations increasingly rely on commercial services for launches, communication, images and data analysis. The Space Force and NROs jointly develop procurement requirements and strategies for many space systems.
Having accepted a new position, Adkins remarked, that the NRO is seriously lagging in capacity and coverage, noting, that a number of commercial companies are trying to invest in this area, but face uncertainty about sustained demand from the government. At the same time, he drew attention to this area, as awareness in the cosmic domain (the ability to track and characterize objects in orbit), which requires additional state investment.
Source: https://spacenews.com