Space Warfighting Readiness: Policies, Authorities, and Capabilities - Threat to Missile Warning and Communication SATCOM Satellites from Russian and Chinese ASAT Weapons, Jammi

The Committee chairman started this hearing on American space warfighting readiness: First, space is a domain of warfare, not just an enabler. Second, we are falling behind where we should be when it comes to space. Today's hearing will discuss how we catch up. As we refocus our defense efforts on strategic rivals, it is clear that they are putting significant effort into space. I believe the American people still do not fully realize how dependent our country is on space, not just for military and intelligence purposes, but in our everyday lives as well. That dependence creates a vulnerability, which, like in the other domains, we must count on the American military to protect. This committee is focused a lot on readiness and rebuilding our military. When it comes to space, there are a number of questions that need answers. For example, where should we be making our investments? Are we attracting and developing the right kind of space warfighters? Perhaps most crucially to me, are we putting the appropriate intellectual effort into space as a warfighting domain? We look forward to the insights that our witnesses today can give us.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.Space Warfighting Readiness: Policies, Authorities, and Capabilities * Opening Statement of Hon. William M. "Mac" Thornberry, Representative From Texas, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services * Statement of Gen C. Robert Kehler, USAF (Ret.), Former Commander, U.S. Strategic Command * Statement of Doug Loverro, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense For Space Policy, Department of Defense * Statement of Todd Harrison, Director of Aerospace Security Project, Center For Strategic and International Studies * Prepared Statements Submitted for the RecordGiven our dependence and that of our allies and partners on space, the loss of critical assets today could prove decisive to our ability to successfully prosecute a military campaign. As a result, the United States has to be prepared to plan and conduct complex operations in space that involve joint interagency and combined, or allied, capabilities and forces in the context of broader commercial, nongovernmental, and international actors and interests. Space operations must integrate seamlessly into multi-domain operations. We should not be preparing to fight (and deter) an isolated ''space war'' as some headlines would suggest. Space is an integral component of our warfighting structure, and challenges to our space capabilities must be addressed within the context of that structure.