APRIL 2, 2026 – Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman outlined his vision for the Space Force’s future in a comprehensive address at a Mitchell Institute Spacepower Security Forum, April 1, 2026. He emphasized that deliberate, long-term planning is crucial for equipping the force to win in an era of high-end strategic competition, ensuring combat-ready capabilities are fielded swiftly.
Saltzman declared the service is moving beyond the status quo. First, it focuses on understanding the future fight. Then, it meticulously crafts a detailed blueprint for the force needed to dominate that environment.
“…Much like George Washington and the Third U.S. Congress as they faced growing threats at sea, we must develop a clear and common understanding of the future threats in the space domain, and deliberately design and field the Space Force needed to counter them,” Saltzman said.
This proactive strategy is built on two core pillars: defining the Future Operating Environment and designing the Objective Force. Saltzman clarified these initiatives are vital for guiding investments and fundamentally transforming the acquisition process.
The Future Operating Environment for 2040 will be conceptual by design, and while it is not an intelligence assessment, it is an analytical look at what could happen if we take space superiority for granted. Saltzman projects a “grueling” environment, one “dominated by Artificial Intelligence, cyber agents, and autonomous systems that can sense, decide, and act at machine speeds.”
Armed with this forward-looking perspective, the Space Force is actively mapping its Objective Force. These detailed plans will cover the precise systems, manpower, infrastructure, and critical partnerships necessary for achieving victory. This type of blueprint sparks a revolution in acquisition, allowing the service to pivot from crafting lengthy, granular requirements to instead targeting specific mission outcomes.
“We simply cannot wait for ‘perfect’ any longer,” Saltzman stated, underscoring the service’s urgent need to deliver capabilities as soon as they offer a warfighting benefit.
The efficacy of this integrated approach is already evident in real-world operations. Saltzman pointed to recent conflicts where the profound value of a Space Force service component fully embedded within the combatant command became undeniable.
“The plan didn’t move forward without the Guardians of the Space Force fully integrated as a part of and key to that Joint Force,” he explained. He concluded by asserting, “You have space superiority if you can use space the way you want, and the adversary cannot use space the way they want.”
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs