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Trump nominates Raytheon executive Erich Hernandez-Baquero as Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integratio

President Donald Trump nominated Raytheon executive Erich Hernandez-Baquero to serve as assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, overseeing how the U.S. plans and integrates space acquisition. The nomination underscores the administration’s focus on aligning military space procurement and delivery.

Discovered 2026-04-21T16:09:25.386896-07:00 | 2026-04-21T16:09:25.386896-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

This nomination places a senior acquisition/integration policymaker in charge of U.S. military space procurement—an organizational lever that will shape priorities and execution across programs, following related acquisition leadership changes like Biden to nominate Andrew Hunter as Air Force acquisition chief.
The role’s scope connects directly to efforts to broaden and stabilize space procurement authority, complementing the request for multi-year purchasing that spans satellites and air-delivered capability in US Air Force seeks multi-year procurement authority spanning satellites, aircraft and munitions.
It also comes as Air Force/Space Command leadership structure and top space-command responsibilities evolve, in context of Air Force’s top space officer tapped to lead U.S. Space Command.

Reported By

Payload Aviation Week Air & Space Forces Mag Breaking Defense insidedefense.com SpaceNews.com