AFP eyes Space Center by 2028 as first step toward Philippine Space Force

Commander-in-Chief, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) receives arrival honors rendered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), led by AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., during the 1st Semester CY 2026 AFP Command Conference held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on July 7, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Wednesday, July 8, that it has begun planning to establish a Space Center by 2028 as the first step toward creating a future Space Command or even a Space Force.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said planning for the new unit is already underway after President Marcos Jr. approved funding for the initiative, although the amount was not disclosed, to develop the country’s own military satellite capability.

“We are now planning to create our Space Center which will eventually evolve into a Space Force or a Space Command,” Brawner said after the command conference with the President at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday, July 7.

“It will be a center because we’re going to start small first. Later on, we’re going to expand into a Space Command or a Space Force,” he added.

Brawner said the planned Space Center forms part of the AFP’s continuing modernization efforts as the military expands its external defense capabilities and strengthens maritime domain awareness amid evolving security challenges in the region.

The military chief said the AFP has already begun organizing the unit while relying on existing space-based services.

“As early as now, we are already building the unit. We already have services that we are tapping so we can take advantage of space technology,” he said.

Brawner said space capability has become essential to modern military operations because it will strengthen surveillance and communications.

Satellite-based intelligence and communications are expected to improve surveillance, command and control, and coordination across the armed forces.

“We need it. There are two very important uses of space. Number one is ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance). It will serve as our ‘eye in the sky’ so we can see what is happening on land and in our seas,” he said.

“Second is to connect all our systems. This includes our communication system, command and control system, missile systems, drone systems, and others,” he added.

The AFP plans to develop its own military satellite capability as part of the project. When asked about the timeline of the establishment of the Space Center, Brawner said, “Hopefully by 2028, we will already have it.”

The military chief disclosed that the project stemmed from an order issued by Marcos during the AFP’s year-end command conference in December 2025.

“Funding has already been approved by the President. In fact, this was the President’s directive during our December command conference,” he said.

“During the 2025 year-end command conference, he said, ‘Why don’t you have your own satellites?’ From that guidance, we started planning. We presented to him today that it is already in the works. We are already carrying out the directive he gave us in December,” Brawner added.

He said the AFP is working closely with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), which already operates the country’s geostationary satellite capability.

“The Philippine Space Agency is our partner because they already have the geostationary satellite. On our part, we will probably start with low-orbit satellites but these will all be interconnected,” Brawner said.

— Martin Sadongdong