SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 – U.S. Space Command leaders convened at the National Defense Industrial Association Space Warfighting Forum, Colorado Springs, August 26-28.
The three-day forum brought together industry, allied military space professionals and leaders from across the Department of Defense for both a classified and an unclassified day. The classified day focused on threats, and participants received a tour of USSPACECOM’s Capability Assessment and Validation Environment and the Joint Commercial Operations cell. The unclassified day’s discussion focused on the importance of leveraging commercial capabilities and the role of technology.
During USSPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting’s closing remarks he emphasized the need to prepare for potential conflict with near-peer adversaries in space.
“If we have a near peer fight, we know that that will include space conflict,” Whiting said. “I don’t like to say a space war, because that conflict in space will be part of the broader war, but it’ll be the first time that we truly have had space be contested by near-peer actors.”
Whiting laid out a stark warning about the evolving nature of space, shifting from a primarily supporting domain to a potential battleground. He emphasized that space operations are no longer simply about enhancing terrestrial fights, but about orbital warfare itself. Understanding the deployment of both friendly and adversarial systems in orbit is crucial for effective defense.
This sentiment was echoed by Lt. Gen. Tom James, USSPACECOM deputy commander, who emphasized the fundamental need to safeguard space capabilities by highlighting a recent quote from U.S. Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, at the NDIA’s annual Emerging Technologies Conference.
“He was asked what’s the most important technologies we should focus on. He said, ‘anything in space.’ That’s a lot of stuff. Space is the most important domain. It will enable everything terrestrial,” James said.
To succeed in this threat environment, Whiting outlined the “Elements of Victory,” five key objectives essential to the U.S. and its partners’ integrated space enterprise to ensure success.
He also stressed that ‘no one command, service, department, agency or company’ can do all of what the U.S. must do in space, and he called for the integration, deconfliction and synchronization of all capabilities.
“We’ve got to have the concepts, the systems–and having rehearsed all of that–to be ready to execute on the worst day that any of our nations have ever faced in space,” Whiting said.
Thomas Lockhart, USSPACECOM director of the Capability and Resource Integration Directorate (J8), and Richard Palmer, deputy director of the J8, reinforced the importance of integrating capabilities and modernizing command and control during panel discussions.
Lockhart addressed the need for threat-informed technology development. He highlighted the CAVE as a tool for commercial partners to integrate and test their technology within a realistic environment to improve decision-making.
The CAVE is a versatile, integrated platform that provides model-based engineering and mission engineering, analysis, simulations and visualization tools to support a wide range of activities, from mission planning to communicating threats to stakeholders. It brings different levels of analysis and modeling together in a unified environment, adapting to the specific needs of the users.
Lockhart also emphasized the importance of the JCO cell. The JCO includes commercial mission partners in the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, who provide Space Domain Awareness information to the joint force, allies and partner nations’ warfighters.
Recent discussions have further emphasized the need for continued international collaboration in space security. Lockhart shared USSPACECOM’s efforts to address this critical area.
“I’d say that we’re working to achieve ‘allied by design’ on USSPACECOM’s Multination Force Operation Olympic Defender. MNF OOD is still in early expansion for multinational space defense, breaking down policy barriers to enhance allied integration and expand Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales in Space. Achieving ‘allied by design’ will unify an effective coalition strategy focusing on the space fight in a more cohesive and comprehensive manner.”
Looking ahead, Whiting said he aims to synergize efforts across stakeholders and bolster the resilience of space architectures. He also wants to explore ways the U.S. can collaborate with a broader range of partners, including advancing MNF OOD.
U.S. Space Command Public Affairs