Clayton Swope
Released on April 4, 2025, the Space Force Doctrine Document 1 (SFDD-1) articulates the raison d’etre and establishes a common lexicon for U.S. military space power. It spells out the what, when, where, why, and how of the Space Force and its role in the joint force today. But there is also a need to look well beyond the present, using as much imagination as possible. The military use of space is evolving quickly, necessitating not only new capabilities but also creating entirely new missions. The Space Force will have to figure out how to identify and integrate new space missions into the U.S. war machine. To do that, it will have to shatter outdated paradigms and policies, while securing greater funding. Doing so is critically important, as new space missions, with the potential to vastly increase the military’s lethality, should be central to Pentagon efforts to rebuild the force to match threats and use that force for deterrence.
New Military Space Missions, Not Just New Capabilities
In his 1949 book War in Three Dimensions, Australian fighter ace and Royal Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Edgar James Kingston-McCloughry wrote that “there has perhaps never in the history of warfare existed a comparable state of ignorance about the potentialities of available weapons.” Though he was referring to military use of the air, his observation applies equally to space today. As with air power, rapid technological advancements and operational experience using the domain are key drivers of change. Another reason is the threat environment, largely shaped by China and Russia, which are diligently working to develop and field new military capabilities using space and aspiring to challenge U.S. military strength in other domains. Enhancing U.S. military space power is about developing new capabilities, but even more than new capabilities, it’s about identifying new space missions. But how the U.S. military uses space is still constrained, an issue recognized by the chief of space operations (CSO), who noted in April 2025 that “overly restrictive space policy and outdated ways of thinking” are holding back U.S. military space power.
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