U.S. Space Command is looking to “go kinetic in orbit” against Russia and China. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Spacecom, in a speech at the annual Army Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on Aug. 6, revealed that the command has just submitted to the Joint Force its FY27 “integrated priorities list,” reported Breaking Defense. At the top of the Spacecom’s FY27 list is a requirement for “space fires to enable us to establish space superiority,” Whiting said.
Whiting didn't explain exactly what he meant by “space fires,” but a Spacecom spokesperson didn’t respond to a request from Breaking Defense for comment by press time. Spacecom has used the phrase sparingly since at least 2022—including in the FY26 integrated priorities list, which cited a need for “Integrated Space Fires and Protection”—and Whiting mentioned it, in his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 29. Breaking Defense notes that, for many years, Pentagon officials have been wary of even discussing the possibility of utilizing “offensive” space weapons, due to political sensitivities and classification issues.
In the Army, “fires” usually refers to blowing things up at a distance with cannon or rocket artillery. Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, head of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, said today that to support Spacecom space fires operations, his service is working on a “range” of “non-kinetic capabilities” to counter adversary systems. “Non-kinetic is the space we operate in,” he told reporters, in a roundtable here. “Non-kinetic” is not explained either, but it is likely that Gainey was talking about electromagnetic means of disabling targeted satellite systems.
For his part, Whiting elaborated that space fires are supported by “advanced space domain awareness operations”—which in turn require “enhanced battlespace awareness for space operations.”
SpaceNews reported separately that the Army, earlier this year, published its “Space Vision” document, in which it explicitly expressed interest in developing offensive capabilities that could potentially deny adversaries access to their surveillance satellites during conflicts. This, SpaceNews said, appears to be influenced by the Army’s Pacific Command, which has been a driving force behind the organization of “multi-domain” task forces. This is the same type of unit to be equipped with long-range cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles, that the U.S. plans to deploy to Germany in 2026.
