Why are the Department of Defense and Space Force talking about buying foreign space technology?

In its United States Space Force Commercial Space Strategy, released April 8, the United States government discussed buying commercial, foreign-made, off-the-shelf products rather than investing solely in developing and building specific military solutions within the government or by using government contractors. This is a departure from the approach that the U.S. has taken in the past and provides leadership guidance to move in a new direction. And it tells us a number of important things about the space technology market today, and how the U.S. perceives the role that other countries can play in its own space and defense strategy.