The United States faces a new era of competition, one that is shifting the battlefield from the land, sea and air domains to the vastness of space. Our adversaries, particularly China and Russia, are rapidly weaponizing the space domain with sophisticated anti-satellite systems, cyber capabilities and electronic warfare technologies specifically designed to threaten America’s space assets. Control of space is essential to both national security and economic prosperity, and the U.S. must act decisively by significantly increasing the budget and size of the U.S. Space Force. However, doing so requires making difficult choices about reallocating resources away from outdated legacy programs that no longer best serve our nation’s security interests or may be funded and operated due to Congressional interest.
For too long, America’s defense acquisition process has been marred by inefficiencies, lengthy procurement cycles and bureaucratic entanglements that impede our ability to adopt necessary innovations. Defense programs often span decades from initial concept to deployment, resulting in technology that is outdated by the time it’s delivered to the warfighter. On top of this, although our defense budgets remain large, they are coming under enormous pressure. In 2022, U.S. defense spending was just over 3.4% of our gross domestic product (GDP). Congress forecasts that this spending will decrease to 2.5% of GDP by 2034, which is lower than the running 50-year average of 4.2%. Declining budgets, combined with bureaucratic delays and ineptitude, are not a good combination.
In the meantime, our adversaries are agile, making swift technological and program advancements without these impediments. If we are to meet the strategic demands of space, we need an acquisition process that emphasizes speed, flexibility and integration of cutting-edge commercial technologies. A strong and well-funded Space Force will ensure America retains its strategic advantage. After all, if the U.S. can’t control space, our Army, Navy, and Air Force will be directly threatened, seriously impacting our ability to deter conflict — and to fight and win wars — when called upon.
Therefore, controlling space requires a realignment of defense budgets. All military services will continue to play a role in the myriad of potential conflicts our country will face in the future. However, any conflict with a peer or near-peer adversary will rely more on technological, space and cyber warfare, meaning our force structure must change. We must lessen our reliance on large-scale terrestrial forces and place more emphasis on technical and information superiority, much of which is delivered from and through space. We must move away from our legacy force structure and shift resources toward the technologies and capabilities that will be decisive in all future warfighting domains.
Increasing the Space Force budget would enable advancements in space domain awareness, satellite resilience, rapid launch capabilities and cyber defenses — mission areas that are critical to defending American assets and deterring adversarial threats. Even more consequential, the U.S. must adopt a strategy that includes both offensive and defensive elements to ensure U.S. access to and operations in space. The cost of our traditional force structure, burdened by legacy weapons systems, is simply unsustainable in an era where our most urgent threats exist above the Earth’s atmosphere. By redirecting resources from outdated programs to the Space Force, the U.S. can focus on securing its position as a leader in space by ensuring both national security and economic vitality for the future.
The challenges of the 21st century require bold thinking and decisive action. America’s preeminence in space will not be won by clinging to yesterday’s forces and tactics; it will be achieved by embracing innovation, efficiency and a commitment to staying ahead of our adversaries. It’s time to recognize that our defense priorities must evolve — and that our future depends upon a strong, well-funded Space Force.
General (Ret.) John E. Hyten is the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Senior Principal Advisor at Elara Nova: The Space Consultancy.
Lt. General (Ret.) Nina Armagno is the first Director of Staff of the United States Space Force and is the Executive Director of International Partnerships at Elara Nova: The Space Consultancy.
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