WASHINGTON — Warfighting in space circa 2040 will be vastly more complex and dangerous than today, therefore the US joint force needs to begin now to develop both the capabilities and concepts of operation to succeed in that environment, according to a foundational assessment by US Space Command (SPACECOM).
The paper, titled Space Warfighting Environment 2040, is a “first-of-its-kind USSPACECOM document,” a SPACECOM official told Breaking Defense — the first of three that, when put together, are expected to offer a fulsome glimpse into how the only full military command dedicated to the stars sees the basics of the future extraterrestrial security landscape.
The document is “intended to establish a common understanding of the future space warfighting environment and provide the foundation for follow-on concept development, force development, experimentation, and planning,” the SPACECOM official, a member of the command’s Joint Forces Development and Training team, told Breaking Defense in an Aug. 11 email.
It identifies four key emerging challenges that will shape future space warfighting, according to a SPACECOM fact sheet:
“the vulnerability of fixed terrestrial space-enabling infrastructure;
