Economic and Political Weekly’s Post

Interesting piece from the WSJ’s “Future of Everything:” Space Force Is Preparing for a New Era of Warfare When the U.S. Space Force—America’s newest branch of the military—debuted nearly five years ago, its quirky dress uniforms, the name for its members (“Guardians”) and an emblem that recalled “Star Trek” prompted punchlines. Now, Space Force is emerging from the shadows. Amid startling advances by China and Russia, its leaders are beginning to talk about preparations for a potential war involving space—even as they say their aim is to deter, not destroy. $28.9 billion: The annual budget of Space Force this fiscal year, far smaller than any other branch of the U.S. military Beijing has deployed a fleet of surveillance satellites and is developing multiple types of satellite-killers, U.S. military officials said, while Moscow has tested components for a nuclear-armed antisatellite device. Still, Space Force is far smaller and less well known than any other branch of the military services, and its creation hasn’t been without turf battles. Its strongest backers also say the honeymoon with Congress is over—the branch’s funding has flatlined. But being blinded in space, if only partially or momentarily, could have catastrophic consequences for U.S. military and intelligence operations.

The U.S. Space Force is gearing up to award up to 20 contracts by 2026 for its Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR). This groundbreaking initiative will enable the military to leverage private space capabilities more effectively during peacetime and conflicts. By creating a framework for redundancy and excess capacity, CASR addresses future challenges with peer adversaries like China and Russia, ensuring readiness even in unpredictable scenarios. Companies selected will join war games and help shape this innovative program, setting the stage for a new era of military-commercial collaboration in space. #spaceforce #commercialspace #defensestrategy #spacetechnology #militaryinnovation

The U.S. Space Force is gearing up to award up to 20 contracts by 2026 for its Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR). This groundbreaking initiative will enable the military to leverage private space capabilities more effectively during peacetime and conflicts. By creating a framework for redundancy and excess capacity, CASR addresses future challenges with peer adversaries like China and Russia, ensuring readiness even in unpredictable scenarios. Companies selected will join war games and help shape this innovative program, setting the stage for a new era of military-commercial collaboration in space. #spaceforce #commercialspace #defensestrategy #spacetechnology #militaryinnovation

Space tends to grip the public imagination, but these forays are not driven by vanity. China, like the U.S., like Europe and like the other main players on the world stage, understands that Space is now one of the key arenas in a potential conflict, and a key driver of innovation across the board. And while the U.S. remains the preeminent space and military power, China’s rapid advancements are narrowing the gap.

LOST IN SPACE Over the last decade, the United States has increasingly relied on satellite systems for military operations, communication, and navigation, making them some of our most critical assets. During this same period, our adversaries developed more sophisticated counter-space capabilities, particularly as they relate to EMI, EMPs, and DEWs. In recent years, Congress and the DOD have begun to play catch-up budgeting, spending some $842 billion in FY 2024 and providing a modest increase for FY 2025. Given the immensity of the threat and the sheer number of assets at risk, this expenditure level will not reduce the threat significantly. #spacewarfare #EMS #EMP #nationaldefense

Advanced #militaries, like Aeronautica Militare, must be prepared to safeguard commercial activities in #Space, ensuring #Security in this vital and increasingly contested domain. 🌌 In the future Low-Earth-Orbit #LEO ecosystem, populated by commercial orbiting stations, securing space will be even more critical than today. Much like Navies once protected sea traffic, the future Air & Space Forces will set to play a key role. 🚀 Until the late 2010s, space was seen as a peacefull environment, fostering #cooperation and a growing Space #economy, but #Security was often overlooked... today, global tensions and increased #threats to #satellites highlight the need for robust space security. In our digitized world, space systems are vulnerable to #cyberattacks and Electromagnetic Warfare (EMW), transforming space into a potential #battlefield. 🌐🛰️ Space #domain is evolving with a shift in exploration, particularly towards #LEO and the #Moon. With the International Space Station (ISS) set to de-orbit in the early 2030s, the U.S. is pioneering public-private partnerships for human orbital flight. China operates its own space station and plans lunar landings, while India's space ambitions grow with its Chandrayaan-3 success and future human spaceflight plans. 🌕👨🚀 As space becomes more contested, advanced militaries must provide a security umbrella for commercial activities, akin to protecting maritime commerce. #SpaceSecurity #SpaceEconomy #CommercialSpace #ItalianAirForce #CyberSecurity #ElectromagneticWarfare #SpaceExploration #GlobalTensions #FutureOfSpace 🛡️🌍

Several experts underline outer #space is experiencing a paradigm shift from exploration to exploitation, whereby #orbits become more congested and contested than ever. At the same time #NATO militaries are adapting not only to integrate space in military operations on Earth but also to operate in this domain. And the Alliance's Strategic Concept embeds space capabilities into its deterrence and #defence posture. #Europe holds important space capabilities but lags behind in certain key areas, including #launchers. And once International Space Station will be decommissioned and replaced by commercial space stations, in the absence of European capabilities to be bartered, access to transportation and to orbital infrastructures will have to be purchased from non-European private companies. Human space transportation is the new frontier that Europeans should address through civil-military cooperation. Here I had the pleasure and honor to reflect together with Samantha Cristoforetti on these issues and the future horizons: https://lnkd.in/dsDid7bn NATO Defense College IAI - Istituto Affari Internazionali Maria Vittoria Massarin Karolina Muti Gaia Ravazzolo

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢? Read on to discover why space is the ultimate battleground! Please see Chief Lerch, Space Systems Command Senior Enlisted Leader's unclassified space threat brief here: https://lnkd.in/gxc3i4va in the latest Space Warfighter Talks series. 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲. The uncrossed frontier. The uncharted battleground. This is the stage for the most significant challenges mankind has ever met - or will ever meet. The Space Force Association stands 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮. 𝘜𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘜𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. Our 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 are the shield that protects our nation's interests in space. Challenges? The U.S. isn't just in the game - we own it. Our leadership, dialogue, and investment are here to protect critical assets in, from and to space. To secure space for the generations to come. To ensure the future itself. United States Space Force #spacewarfightertalks #space #guardian #china #russia

The continued global integration of space defence is impressive. Today, the space commanders of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Chile and Germany set out their views on how they are creating a global 'combined force' (not an advantage our adversaries possess).

“Space: Exploring NATO’s Final Frontier” is worth reading. This comprehensive report delves into the strategic significance of Space for NATO and the many challenges posed by an increasingly contested, congested, and competitive Space domain.