COLORADO SPRINGS\u2014 The U.S. Space Force is finalizing a strategy document aimed at expanding international collaboration in orbit as the military branch seeks to prepare for operations in a contested domain.<\/p>\n
Speaking April 9 at the Space Symposium, the service\u2019s chief of space operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, said he will soon release an \u201cInternational Partnership Strategy,\u201d describing it as a framework to enhance collaboration with allies, improve interoperability, maximize information sharing, and secure collective interests in space.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll say it again: Space power is the ultimate team sport,\u201d Saltzman said during his address.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u200bThe strategy is currently in its final coordination steps, he said, and will be released in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
In his speech at the symposium, Saltzman shared some details of the forthcoming strategy.<\/p>\n
The Space Force\u2019s effort to increase international collaboration comes as both Russia and China have demonstrated advanced anti-satellite capabilities in recent years, raising concerns among U.S. defense officials about vulnerabilities in space-based systems that are critical for communications, intelligence gathering and missile warning.<\/p>\n
Saltzman emphasized that the vastness and complexity of space operations make it impossible for any single nation to secure the domain alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe space domain is too big, too complex, too dynamic for a single nation to secure alone,\u201d he noted. Countering hostile actions against U.S. and allies in space, he said, \u201crequires an extraordinary degree of trust, coordination and shared commitment among like-minded nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCooperation with allies, partners, commercial entities is not just a good idea, it\u2019s essential,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The new strategy comes as the Space Force, established in December 2019, continues to define its operational role and build out its capabilities amid growing recognition of space as a warfighting domain.<\/p>\n
Building on existing efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n The strategy builds upon initiatives already underway, including the appointment last summer of U.K. Air Marshal Paul Godfrey as assistant chief of space operations for future concepts and partnerships \u2014 the first time a non-U.S. officer has been integrated into such a senior position within the Space Force.<\/p>\n \u201cHis presence has created a daily reminder in the headquarters that we have to stay linked. We have to consider what our allies and partners might think,\u201d Saltzman said.<\/p>\n He described the new strategy as providing \u201cinfrastructure for transforming policy into action, ensuring a unified, resilient approach to international space security.\u201d<\/p>\n A key tenet of the strategy, he said, involves leveraging the comparative advantages of different partners.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is basic economics. Every one of our nations and organizations has something to contribute,\u201d said Saltzman. \u201cThe trick is in focusing on areas where we have a comparative advantage. Maybe it\u2019s space domain awareness or hosted payloads. Maybe it\u2019s launch capacity, or even simple geography for a ground station.\u201d<\/p>\n Interoperability challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n The Space Force already shares space domain awareness data with allies and has established partnerships with countries including Norway and Japan on specific space missions.<\/p>\n However, Saltzman acknowledged that deeper integration will require overcoming significant obstacles, particularly regarding classified information.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not happy with our progress in declassifying information,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to go faster. We need to shift from the mindset of \u2018need to know\u2019 to one of \u2018need to share.\u2019 The barriers we face are complicated, but they\u2019re not insurmountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Preparing for conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n Saltzman emphasized the importance of joint training exercises to ensure readiness for potential future conflicts.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re not tightly coupled in our training, if we\u2019re not reconciling our operational concepts, if we\u2019re not integrating our capabilities, we will have a very steep learning curve when called upon in crisis or conflict,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The strategy outlines plans to embed more allied personnel into U.S. force design processes \u201cfrom the beginning,\u201d while expanding joint exercises and personnel exchanges.<\/p>\n Regional success stories<\/strong><\/p>\n As an example of successful partnership, Saltzman highlighted a Space Force unit in Tucson, Arizona, that works with allies in South America.<\/p>\n \u201cWith just a skeleton crew of guardians and airmen, the team has led 19 significant security cooperation initiatives across seven partner nations. They\u2019ve helped install telescopes and op centers across the continent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd perhaps most impressive of all, the team has leveraged commercial capability to build out an enhanced domain awareness system\u201d to share data, he added. \u201cThis is an incredible step forward in partner integration in South America.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLORADO SPRINGS\u2014 The U.S. Space Force is finalizing a strategy document aimed at expanding international collaboration in orbit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[4796,70,413,3882,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-10208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-chance-saltzman","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-space","11":"tag-space-symposium","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}