GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. —
On July 31, 2026, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Delta 7 officially activated the 77th Surveillance Squadron (77 SURS), marking a critical advancement in the Department of War’s ability to track global threats from space, the ultimate high ground.
Serving as the tip of the spear for the Space-based Moving Target Indication (SB-MTI) mission, 77 SURS will manage and deliver intelligence essential to the joint warfighter across every DoW service branch and combatant command. This activation serves as a cornerstone of the USSF Objective Force 2040 vision, which emphasizes moving toward distributed, hybrid space architectures to achieve persistent vigilance in contested domains.
“The activation of the 77th Surveillance Squadron is a watershed moment for joint warfighting,” said Col. Nathaniel Peace, Space Delta 7 commander. “We are establishing an unblinking, persistent eye in space that directly feeds critical tracking data to our forces on the ground, in the air, and at sea. This capability immediately enhances our global combatant commands, giving them the vital battlespace awareness needed to make decisions at speed and hold any adversary at risk.”
Powered by the Space-Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST) program, SB-MTI will utilize a constellation of hundreds of reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition satellites to provide continuous, real-time surveillance of ground, air, and maritime threats worldwide. This global space vantage point unlocks persistent terrestrial battlespace awareness in denied or contested environments where traditional sensors cannot reach. It equips the joint warfighter with unmatched operational flexibility and serves as a critical pillar of modern national defense.
The 77 SURS is uniquely postured as an “employed-in-place” squadron with a global mission. Currently operating out of a temporary location at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota—pending formal basing approval—the squadron provides continuous target tracking and battle management from its home station under the High-Capacity F2T2EA program. Crucially, the unit also maintains the capability to deploy personnel forward to directly augment combatant commands during a crisis.
To expedite this cradle-to-grave kill chain process, the squadron is cultivating a highly specialized culture. The 77 SURS integrates a 50/50 mix of intelligence and space operations personnel into multi-domain crews that operate as a single, coherent unit of action. Pending FY27 budget approvals, the squadron is slated to grow to 45 billets in 2027 and 61 billets in 2028.
“We are building a completely new type of warfighting team,” Peace noted regarding the unit’s construct. “By placing our space operators side-by-side with our intelligence analysts, we are tearing down traditional silos. This operational fusion is exactly what allows us to move from simply seeing a target to providing actionable data to the Joint Force at the speed of modern conflict.”
By John E. Ayre, USSF Combat Forces Command public affairs
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