Myriad ways that drones, satellites, and common controls reshape ISR

Airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is a foundational element of establishing information superiority on the battlefield. But as threats evolve and the battlespace expanded to all domains, accurate information gathering and sharing is ever more critical.

ISR platforms must be flexible and adaptable to meet these challenges. Airborne ISR is a must, but expanding ISR capabilities to space and being prepared for attempts to interfere with satellite intelligence are also part of successfully establishing information dominance.

Building the necessary capabilities requires understanding how ISR platforms can work together to paint a clear picture of the battlefield and how threats are evolving.

Drones and ISR infrastructure

Air dominance is a cornerstone of US military doctrine, and maintaining it enables ISR assets to operate without threat of attack. The rise of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offers new ISR capabilities, but also creates new threats that must be accounted for to maintain control of the skies.

The rapid advancement of drone technology is shaping how US forces are building their future fleets of aircraft. The Air Force had previously announced its plans to accelerate its Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) unmanned platform, and in his keynote at the 2026 AFA Air, Space, Cyber Conference, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said that the service is looking to fielding 100 of the new drones by 2029 and 500 by 2032, up from the original goal of having 20 drones in service by fiscal 2031.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the Air Force’s chief modernization officer, said standardization of control interfaces will be a key consideration for the force’s drone efforts.

“What I would like to have is multiple aircraft designs that go into production that can be operated with a common interface that’s more like mouse clicks and keyboard as opposed to stick and throttle, and I can have, whatever an MMA operator ends up looking like, fly all of them. That’s where I would like to go,” Niemi said.

The US Marine Corps is also focused on drones for ISRas part of its ISR efforts, including developing its own fleet instead of relying on contractors. At the 2026 Modern Day Marine Conference, Marine Corps Maj. Michael Zbonack said that the force wants to implement its own ISR capabilities by working with industry to develop a common controller software solution, allowing troops to hand off control of drones as needed.

The next frontier of ISR

Whether it’s collected by drones, military aircraft or modified civilian aircraft, ISR is necessary to give commanders and troops in the field a clear picture of the battlefield and what is happening at any given time. With the rise of space as a warfighting domain, satellite-based ISR and counter-satellite strategies are becoming more important to ensure information advantagel.

United States Space Force Delta 7 is responsible for space-based ISR, with several squadrons around the country focused on providing intelligence for monitoring adversarial activities, threat analysis, support for integrated fires and combat operations.

Space Force is also tracking how adversaries such as Russia and China are implementing ISR and other capabilities in space, and released a fact sheet in July detailing several known capabilities. Among them are more than 500 Chinese satellites with optical, multispectral, radar, and radio frequency sensors, while Russia has tested anti-satellite missiles and ground-based lasers to blind intelligence satellites to potential missile launches. Russia and China are both also suspected of launching space-based weapons systems in addition to reconnaissance capabilities.

In his AFA keynote, Meink revealed that the US has weapons in orbit to defend forces against potential threats from adversaries.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said. “This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.”