Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said the Defense Department should take advantage of commercial satellites and other space technologies to counter hostile hypersonic weapons, National Defense reported Friday.
“It’s not enough to just build elegant military constellations anymore,†Selva said Friday at an event hosted by Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
“We need to figure out how to hitch a ride. We need to figure out how to engineer that data into the systems to help do command and control in warfighting,†he added.
CNBC reported that Selva also discussed the hypersonic weapons from Russia and China and their threats to the U.S. military.
Russia unveiled hypersonic and nuclear weapons in March and sources told CNBC that two of the six weapons will be available by 2020.
Selva’s remarks came a day after Vice President Mike Pence announced plans to establish a new service branch and combatant command that would focus on space.
