The “Space Warfighting—A Framework for Planners” document, released by U.S. Space Force on April 17, says the joint force won’t be able to succeed in a future fight if it can’t gain superiority in space—a call that Space Force officials hope will help position the service to get the money it needs to buy new systems. “The service believes absolutely that it is our responsibility to protect the joint force from space-enabled attack, and that involves both offensive and defensive warfighting capabilities.…”
All of this requires weapons systems including systems to be placed in orbit, but while Space Force leaders have been talking about “space superiority” in recent months, they’re still hiding much of their weapons concepts under the cloak of classification. One of the few systems it has acknowledged is a ground jammer called “Meadowlands.” The Space Force formally accepted its first Meadowlands system, said Col. Bryon McClain, program executive officer for combat power and space domain awareness, during last week’s Space Symposium, reported Air & Space Forces Magazine. Meadowlands updates the Counter Communications System, a ground-based offensive platform designed to jam and disrupt adversaries’ satellite communications.
Meadowlands, however, is just a small part of McClain’s weapons portfolio, most of which he can’t talk about because it’s classified. Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman’s increasing emphasis on space superiority points to future investments in space and counter-space weapons. Air & Space Forces notes that McClain stands to see growth in his budget areas as the Space Force forges that future. “I would not be surprised if there’s continued growth there,” he said. Talking about it, however, may take longer still. “The challenge is General Saltzman is able to talk very broadly about the concepts,” McClain explained. “Where it comes down to me, is doing the specifics. And that’s where the wall [goes up on] what I can and can’t say.”
In an onstage interview, Space Forces-Space commander Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess hinted that Saltzman and U.S. Space Command boss Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s calls for space weapons are already translating into market research and early acquisition work. “To get after protecting the joint force from space enabled attack, I need the capability to deny, disrupt, and degrade those red kill chains,” Schiess said. “I need that from our commercial partners, and I’ve talked to many of you this week, and we need to continue to build up to that.”
