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A new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the military version of the CIA, revealed that Russia and China's space assets have expanded 70% since 2019.

As threatening as that sounds, the report actually understates what's at risk here - considering that from 2015 to 2018, we saw a combined increase of a stunning 200% for those same two nations.

In other words, Space Race 2.0 is officially kicking into high gear.

But Space Race 2.0 isn't just about what's happening on a geopolitical level.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is committing $10 billion to its Project Kuiper internet service, while Elon Musk's SpaceX is launching scores of satellites for Starlink to surround Earth with their own satellite-based internet.

With the two richest people in the world leading Space Race 2.0 - Musk and Bezos with a combined net worth of $390 billion - alongside the most powerful nations on the planet, it's no wonder Morgan Stanley projects that space could be a $1 trillion market by 2040.

But the United States' top defense tech leaders won't be left behind, either.

In fact, one U.S. defense tech company checks all the boxes we're looking for in a Space Race 2.0 investment opportunity. It's a great supplier play that's up 15% so far this year even as the S&P 500 has cratered - and I'll give you all the details today...

This Defense Company Is Crucial To The Space Industry

The company that meets all the criteria we're looking for is ManTech International Corp. (MANT).

The ManTech name is simply a combination of management and technology, which, when it started in 1968, was a pretty snazzy combo.

Back then, the company focused its services on the federal government, helping transition its various departments in the young Computer Age.

But over time, it moved its offices from New Jersey to metropolitan Washington, D.C., as its government contracts grew.

ManTech's chief clients now are the Pentagon, Homeland Security, the FBI, State Department, and the intelligence community, as well as other agencies and departments.

Not only that, but the company has supported NASA for more than 30 years - including work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates the agency's Deep Space Network, and the Marshall Space Center, a storied unit that is NASA's largest operation.

The reason it's poised so well to ride the growth of space-based industry is because of its commitment to providing full-spectrum cybersecurity and secure communications solutions to its clients. As our ambitions in space grow, protecting our assets from cyberwarfare attacks and intrusions is going to be crucial.

Otherwise, hackers from Russia or China could seize control of our critical satellites in a time of war or even disrupt computer-controlled space flights.

Either event could spell disaster.

Boldly Going To the Stars And Beyond

Although the focus here is on Space Race 2.0, you have to remember that many of the opportunities that are being exploited in space are serving ground-based efforts.

For example, GPS is a space-based system that provides geolocation information necessary for pilots, ship captains, surveyors, signals intelligence, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones), and even your average vacationer.

With all that information being relayed around the world via satellites, space espionage has become a very big deal. Data is a lot easier to steal than managing and recruiting human assets on the ground.

And ManTech's ability to continually redefine and refine its mission positions it perfectly to take advantage of the commercial and governmental ambitions in space.

ManTech's space focus isn't just limited to NASA, either. The firm recently won a $476 million contract with the new U.S. Space Force to provide systems engineering solutions for the agency's Space and Missile Center.

That's pretty impressive for a company that has a market cap just over $3 billion.

This 10-year contract will put ManTech in charge of an array of mission-critical space launch programs for space and missile systems at Space Force facilities, including Los Angeles Air Force Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Last November, it won a $7 million contract (with an option for another year) for cyber defense support to the U.S. Air Force 90th Information Operations Squadron.

These squadrons protect both the physical and cyber operations of bases and other assets from black hats - which are a special breed of malicious hackers.

And this is just a taste of recent contracts ManTech has landed. There are plenty on the intel side we'll never hear about.

The point is, with all the economic upheaval and market volatility we're experiencing right now, ManTech is particularly well positioned in growth sectors with very reliable and eager clients.

What's more, MANT stock is up 15% year to date, while the S&P 500 is down more than 11%.

And did I mention that it pays a dividend of nearly 2%?

Better still, MANT is on pace to double earnings per share in 3.5 years.

And given the growth in its core markets, as well as its small size, it still has plenty of market-crushing upside left.

With FAANG stocks disappointing lately, it's time to look beyond the tech leaders of today and toward the more groundbreaking innovations of tomorrow - the ones that still have explosive profit potential ahead.