Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said the new Futures Command will not just be looking at what new capabilities the Space Force should build, own and operate, but also at how commercial tech, systems and services can fill some needs.
Under the "reoptimizing" effort, changes are coming across the Department of the Air Force, from new training approaches to the establishment of high-level offices.
"And so I think, as you see new missions come on, you can presume that that means more Guardians to perform those missions, and we'll have to adjust the strength going up," said CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman.
"This is a new type of capability. It's not completely the Intelligence Community supporting the [Defense Department]. It's not completely a DoD mission without the help of the Intelligence Community. It's this combination of the two," said CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman.
In this op-ed, Sarah Mineiro outlines three areas the Space Force needs to improve upon in order to achieve its goals.
Brig. Gen. Jason Cothern, Space Systems Command deputy commander, said that the new deltas will be organized along the same lines as SSC's current Acquisition Deltas.
"It can't just be a strategy with aspirational platitudes about how we're going to work together," Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said. "It has to have more tangible guidance, things that we can take action on."
The space operations chief wants systems that can gather "exquisite, high fidelity information about what's going on" in geosynchronous Earth orbit "and beyond," more sensors in the Southern Hemisphere to keep an eye on low Earth orbit and — critically — a better way to fuse data.
Saltzman cautioned that the service is unlikely to "go from 'eat before reading' classification to unclassified."
The two new Integrated Mission Deltas will be responsible for all aspects of electronic warfare and positioning, navigation and timing.
When it comes to leveraging commercial space tech, one analyst said, "The old adage holds — show me your budget and I’ll show you your priorities."
"The phrase in, from, and to space is a direct reference to the core functions of the Space Force. Guardians secure our Nation’s interests in space through space superiority activities that protect the Joint Force and the Nation from space and counterspace threats," wrote Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a memo obtained by Breaking Defense.
“The destruction of a satellite may not have that same public effect as a missile attack into a civilian population, but from a military standpoint, you’ve still definitely created an act of war,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman.
"While important, a narrow focus on protecting space capabilities disregards how U.S. strategic competitors are preparing to use their own space capabilities to find, target, and attack forces operating in the terrestrial domains," Gen. Chance Saltzman wrote in an internal Commander's Note obtained by Breaking Defense.
"I expect that by the end of my tenure, if I make it all the way to [2026], that you're going to see a substantial on-orbit capability that allows us to compete in full-spectrum operations,” Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman said today.