The U.S. Space Force has issued an International Partnership Strategy to maintain security and stability and promote sustainability in orbit.
The strategy, published Tuesday, recognizes the importance of international cooperation in the increasingly complex and contested space environment.
Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations and a three-time Wash100 Award winner, even described space power as “the ultimate team sport.”
“Space is simply too complex, too vast and too risky for any single power to control,” he said. “Therefore, if the service is to achieve its mission to secure our nation’s interests in, from, and to space, then it absolutely must cultivate partnerships with partners upon whom it can depend on to share its pursuit of a stable, secure and sustainable domain.”
The role of space in the great power competition is one of the topics that will be addressed at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31. Register for the in-person event here.
Air Marshal Paul Godfrey will lead the strategy’s implementation as assistant chief of space operations for future concepts and partnerships.
In a statement, Godfrey emphasized the importance of international cooperation to deter conflict.
“The risk calculus for our potential adversaries increases when they see allies and partners building and operating integrated space architectures,” he explained.
Details of Space Force’s International Partnership Strategy
The strategy identifies three goals and three lines of effort for the Space Force to deter conflict in the space domain.
The goals are as follows:
- Empower allies and partners to serve as combat multipliers
- Enhance communication to ensure data, capability and activity interoperability
- Cooperate with partners and allies across the full spectrum of force design, development and employment
The Space Force’s lines of effort are:
- Include allies and partners in force development activities
- Create conditions in which allies and partners can be easily integrated into the service’s force design
- Seamlessly operate as a coalition
The Space Force announced that it is developing an international strategy in December. At the time, Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations and also a Wash100 winner, shared that the goal is to ensure that every system and capability the service designs is interoperable with partner systems. Gen. Guetlein will be a speaker at the 2025 Air and Space Summit—all the more reason to register now!
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