New Pentagon Strategy to Defend U.S. Dominance in Space

Article by Sandra Erwin                             June 17, 2020                          (spacenews.com)

• On June 17th at a Pentagon news conference, the DoD’s unveiled a ten-year Defense Space Strategy to replace an Obama-era 2011 space strategy based upon the Trump administration’s 2018 national defense strategy that calls for the U.S. military to prepare to compete with rising military powers such as China and Russia.

• China and Russia have developed capabilities to challenge U.S. access to space and “present the most immediate and serious threats to U.S. space operations.” “Both countries consider space access and denial as critical components of their national and military strategies.” Threats from North Korea and Iran are also growing, the document states.

• “DoD has to confront the new reality that adversaries have more advanced weapons designed to target U.S. military satellites and deny the United States a key military advantage,” according to the new strategy paper. “Now we have to defend U.S. and allies to secure the domain.” The DoD will work with allies and with the private sector to ensure space superiority.

• Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Steve Kitay said that the DoD has taken significant actions to stay ahead of other powers, such as the establishment of a) the U.S. Space Force as a new military service; b) the U.S. Space Command as a unified combatant command; and c) the Space Development Agency to help accelerate the acquisition of new technologies. The DoD recognizes there’s a space technology race underway and the United States has to accelerate the pace of innovation. Part of the strategy will be to “leverage commercial technological advancements and acquisition processes.”

• The DoD will focus on these key priorities: a) to protect and defend U.S. and commercial space capabilities; b) to deter and defeat adversary hostile use of space; c) to deliver advanced operational space capabilities; d) to bolster the domestic civil and commercial space industry; and e) to uphold internationally accepted standards of responsible behavior.

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has released an updated space strategy that replaces the 2011 document issued by the Obama

administration.

The Defense Space Strategy unveiled June 17 provides broad guidance to DoD for “achieving desired conditions in space over the next 10 years,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Steve Kitay said at a Pentagon news conference.

The space strategy builds on the Trump administration’s 2018 national defense strategy that calls for the U.S. military to prepare to compete with rising military powers such as China and Russia.

DoD will work to maintain space superiority, provide space capabilities to U.S. and allied forces, and ensure stability in space, the strategy says.

“DoD has to confront the new reality that adversaries have more advanced weapons designed to target U.S. military satellites and deny the United States a key military advantage,” says the strategy. “Now we have to defend U.S. and allies to secure the domain.”

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