SPACECOM needs more capabilities to target space adversaries: Whiting

MAUI — US Space Command (SPACECOM) does not have all the capabilities it needs to target adversary space systems in a conflict, the command’s top officer said today.

“To be able to negate threats in space, we must be able to find, fix, track, and target those threats. Targeting in the space domain is maturing, but it still has a long way to go,” SPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting told the annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) conference.

“We don’t have robust target folders like the Joint Force does in other domains,” he said.

In addition, “once a target is engaged” SPACECOM needs “real-time battlespace awareness in order to execute battle management,” he said.

Offensive actions against adversary space systems during a conflict is one function that falls under the concept of “space control,” Whiting explained.

Space control, in turn, is a “cornerstone” of US military operations given the proliferation of adversary space systems and counterspace capabilities.

“It encompasses the full spectrum of activities needed to actively contest and control the space domain, with the ultimate goal of achieving space superiority. This isn’t passive defense; it’s proactive warfighting that includes active or passive measures, kinetic or non-kinetic fires, and reversible or nonreversible effects. At its core, space control involves offensive and defensive actions collectively known as counterspace operations,” Whiting explained.

Space control, however, isn’t possible without robust space domain awareness (SDA), he said.

“Just as Sun Tzu reminded us to know the enemy, ourselves, the terrain, and the weather for complete victory, SDA integrates those multi-disciplinary insights to turn orbital data into the actionable intelligence that underpins surveillance, protection, prevention, and negation. Without it, we’re navigating blind in a contested domain where threats can emerge from any orbit or angle,” Whiting said.

“SDA truly is the bedrock of space control,” he added.

SPACECOM also is increasingly looking to fill gaps in baseline technologies ― first and foremost, SDA ― required for operations in the vast volumes of cislunar space and even farther, Whiting said.

Due to the laws of physics, objects in space farther away from the Earth are subject to differing levels of gravity, magnetic interference and solar radiation that affect how spacecraft operate.

“[A]s we expand our operations into cislunar space and beyond, we must ensure the SDA architecture is scalable—otherwise, we risk leaving deep space unmonitored and vulnerable to exploitation by our opponents,” he said.

Further, he said the US military lacks capabilities for positioning, navigation and timing; satellite communications; and “even a standard format for discussing positional states in cislunar space.”

“This represents a concern, and USSPACECOM is focused on addressing it,” Whiting said.