WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Troy Meink, a senior intelligence official with extensive space and defense experience, to serve as secretary of the Air Force, signaling a strong emphasis on space capabilities for his incoming administration.
The nomination, announced Jan. 16, would place a veteran of both military operations and intelligence acquisitions at the helm of a department that oversees not only the Air Force but also the newest military branch, the Space Force.
The Space Force, established in 2019, has taken on increasing significance as space becomes more contested and countries like China and Russia develop anti-satellite capabilities.
Meink currently serves as principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the secretive agency responsible for America’s constellation of spy satellites. In this role, he has focused on modernizing the nation’s space-based intelligence capabilities, particularly in accelerating the delivery of critical information to military forces and adapting to emerging threats.
If confirmed by the Senate, Meink would replace Frank Kendall as the Department of the Air Force’s highest-ranking civilian leader. He would take over the department at a crucial time as both the Air Force and Space Force are grappling with challenges ranging from strategic competition with China to the integration of artificial intelligence into military operations.
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Troy Meink will be the next United States Secretary of the Air Force.
Troy currently serves as the Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and began his career as a KC-135 Tanker Navigator, and later, as a test engineer…— Trump Posts on 𝕏 (@trump_repost) January 16, 2025
Meink’s career spans both military and civilian service. A former KC-135 tanker navigator and instructor in the Air Force, he later managed ballistic missile testing programs before transitioning to senior civilian roles. At the Pentagon, he previously served as deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space, and at the NRO, he directed geospatial intelligence systems acquisition.
In his current role at the NRO, Meink has championed the agency’s shift toward a more distributed satellite architecture, a strategy aimed at making space-based intelligence capabilities more resilient to potential threats.
Sources familiar with the selection process told SpaceNews that SpaceX founder Elon Musk — who will be leading the Trump administration’s government efficiency initiatives — advocated for Meink’s appointment. Under Meink’s leadership, the agency has not only relied on SpaceX for launching classified payloads but has also contracted with the company to develop Starshield, a classified constellation of low Earth orbit satellites based on SpaceX’s Starlink technology.
With the Space Force still maturing as a branch, these sources said Meink’s expertise in space acquisitions and operational management is expected to play a key role in further shaping its structure, capabilities and mission focus.
