Industry News

Industry News & Perspectives

Staying ahead of compliance mandates, space workforce development, and defense technology trends. Published by the TacNex team and guest industry leaders.

National Security Operations Center, circa 1985, photographed at the National Cryptologic Museum. CC0 public domain dedication.

CMMC Compliance | April 2026

AI Adoption in Defense: CMMC Compliance Risks and Liabilities

An associate in a secure environment had hooked an autonomous AI coding agent to their local files. They had not thought about CMMC. CMMC Phase 1 enforcement went live in November 2025, and pasting CUI into a commercial AI tool violates at least six NIST 800-171 controls on contact.

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Lunar surface photographed during the Apollo 16 mission. NASA, public domain.

Industry Analysis

China's Integrated Lunar Pipeline: Why On-Orbit Manufacturing Is a Strategic Race

March 2026 · 2 min read

China's first metal 3D print in space, solar-powered regolith printers, lunar-fiber manufacturing, and a peer-reviewed 40 kW reactor design now form one integrated pipeline pointing toward a basic lunar station by 2035. The U.S. has serious programs in flight too. The open question is who becomes the foreman.

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STS-125 crew captures the Hubble Space Telescope after the final on-orbit servicing mission, May 2009. NASA, public domain.

Industry Analysis

The Space Force's Refueling Paradox: Mandate Without Money

February 2026 · 2 min read

The Space Force mandated refueling for its most important new constellation in the same fiscal year it requested zero dollars for Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics. Meanwhile $358M+ in disclosed servicing contracts moves through STRATFI, APFIT, and OTA pathways. Alternative acquisition that moves fast and stops just as fast.

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Co-Authored & Opinion Pieces

Industry Perspectives

We invite aerospace and defense leaders to share their perspectives on the challenges shaping our industry.

Aerial view of the Pentagon. U.S. Navy photograph, public domain.

Opinion

The Defense Industrial Base Has a Math Problem

Three signals from inside the defense industrial base are pointing the same direction. Adversaries are moving faster than our procurement and compliance frameworks can keep up. We declare capabilities core missions, then zero out their budgets. The DIB does not have an innovation problem. It has a math problem.

Alaan Franklin

Founder, TacNex Technologies

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