Space News:

The war in Ukraine has put on display military forces’ growing reliance on satellites and has created incentives to disrupt opponents’ access to space systems, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, said Dec. 3.

“I think this modern war that we’re seeing play out in Ukraine is just indicative of what we can expect in the future,” Saltzman said during a panel session at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California.

Saltzman’s two main takeaways from the conflict in Ukraine: the value of space “has been proven out,” and space is “clearly a contested domain.”

Whether it’s satellite-based communications, imagery, early warning of missile launches, or positioning navigation and timing, “the capability that space offers has demonstrated its value so much so that both sides are engaged in trying to counter those capabilities and deny those advantages to the opponent,” he said.

Saltzman, who assumed command of the Space Force Nov. 2, said a top priority for the Department of Defense is “to protect our capabilities in space.” 

The Space Force is working on that, he said, but it will take years.

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