I dip into War on The Rocks irregularly and this article may help lift the gloom that I see here.

It opens with:
The world’s largest constellation of satellites is not operated by the U.S. government, but rather by Planet Labs, a San Francisco-based startup that uses satellites to gain insights for its commercial customers.....While principally focused on commercial applications, the dual-use nature of this technology is clear. Battles at sea historically favor the first effective attacker. Launching the first effective attack requires either superior scouting...
Link:https://warontherocks.com/2018/11/pe...ime-awareness/

Is this an example of how the non-state sector can help with an established system? No doubt the traditional response will be it is not built for warfare, e.g. insufficient, encrypted data down link capacity.

Could it be innovation comes from the bottom in the military, where the need can be clearer, even if the capacity to innovate may be small?