President Trump yesterday tapped Erich Hernandez-Baquero to be Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, according to a White House announcement.

If confirmed by the Senate, Hernandez-Baquero would be responsible for all of the satellites, ground systems, data networks and other space systems or supporting infrastructure the service buys and fields.

His nomination comes as the Air Force is requesting its largest ever budget for the Space Force in fiscal year 2027, which includes $19.1 billion in procurement.

Hernandez-Baquero currently serves as Raytheon’s vice president of space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. In that role, he oversees the development and sustainment of command and control, communications and data processing systems for space-based ISR.

He previously held an acquisition role within the National Reconnaissance Office and earlier worked on test and evaluation at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Thomas Ainsworth has served in the position overseeing space programs on a temporary basis since the start of this year. It was previously held by Frank Calvelli during the Biden administration.

Trump has also picked Roger Mason to be the next director of the National Reconnaissance Office, according to yesterday’s notice. He is currently the chief growth officer of V2X, a defense manufacturer developing IT and other network mission solutions.