Space could be a battleground. This idea is more or less a commentary on the current state of emerging affairs in aerospace; if we are to maintain our presence in space, we need some conscientious brand of ‘space situational awareness’ that all the players around the table can agree on.

“Space is not a sanctuary…it is a war fighting domain,” U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Mark Baird said in a panel at the Defense One Tech Summit in July.

In today’s high-tech warfare environment we take technology for granted, as Gen. Baird believes, and that the ability of the military (see: ‘Space Corps’) and Congress to obtain resources is lacking.

“In terms of terrified, we have to prepare to protect the nation. It is a big task that we’re rushing to make sure we’re ready,” said Baird. “The last 20 years we just launched our missions–the world is changing, but we should change the tense: the world has changed.”

Our nation’s increased use and dependency on satellite and anti-satellite technology for commercial and military use has necessitated the development of effective policies and doctrines for the control of space, prompting questions about probing planets and proliferating the space superiority enterprise.

“It is a good sign because people are now focusing on this problem that we have–we are recognizing across all sectors of the government that we need to be ready, poised and postured so we can protect the nation,” he said.

As the Director of Space Programs for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition in Washington D.C., Baird is responsible for a multi-billion dollar budget–a multifarity of defense directives in the planning, development, testing, deployment and continuation of space capabilities–working to stay ahead of the curve across a wide spectrum from the Pentagon to the people.

“Without question, the United States has become increasingly reliant on space. Both economically and militarily, our dependence on space assets is undeniable. Orbiting satellites provide a myriad of services that we have become dependent on, such as precise position, navigation, and timing (PNT); communications; weather data; missile warning; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).”

But don’t get too excited, he says with a grin, as men and women that might not be riding rockets into battle anytime soon. Yet.

Commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1989, Baird was appointed to Brigadier General in 2014, receiving the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit award for “exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the United States and the War on Terror.“ During his career, he has served in a variety of positions, including contingency contracting officer, program manager and squadron commander.

Brigadier General Baird will be addressing the Potomac Officer’s Club as a keynote speaker at the 2017 Space: Innovations, Programs, and Policies Summit to be held Oct. 18, 2017 at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.

Click here to register

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The U.S. Army has released a draft document that describes how U.S. forces and allies will fight adversaries across air, ground, maritime, cyber and space domains in the period of 2025 through 2040, Defense One reported Monday.

The draft strategy describes Multi-Domain Battle as an operational concept that seeks to address challenges posed by peer adversaries through adoption of three components.

These include the use of “resilient formations” that can project power and work “semi-independently” at tactical and operational levels; convergence of capabilities across several domains to provide the Joint Force an advantage to maneuver; and force posture calibration to counter “hybrid war.”

The draft strategy also discusses the components of the Multi-Domain Battle operational framework in response to adversaries’ expansion of the battlespace and use of technologies and military systems to converge capabilities.

These components include deep fire areas, deep maneuver areas and close area as well as strategic, operational and tactical support areas.

The document also tackles how adversaries take measures to meet objectives below the level of armed conflict and how enemies employ reconnaissance assets, unconventional warfare, information warfare and conventional forces to disrupt alliances and destabilize target states.

The U.S. Navy plans to decommission its 11 oldest cruisers over a six-year period, starting with the USS Mobile Bay and USS Bunker Hill guided missile ships in 2020, Defense News reported.

A decommissioning schedule obtained by Defense News says the 11 Ticonderoga-class cruisers will leave the Navy fleet by 2026, when they reach the end of their 35-year service life.

A source told the publication that none of the Navy’s force structure assessments require the military branch to extend the service life of the 11 cruisers to help the achieve its planned 355-ship fleet.

Lt. Seth Clarke, a Navy spokesman, said that the scheduled decommissioning effort aligns with the congressionally mandated ‘2-4-6’ cruiser modernization plan.

The ‘2-4-6’ plan requires the Navy to keep two ships inactive at a time for no more than four years, and put only up to six ships in the idle status at one time.

The service branch also aims to decommission USS Cape St. George in 2038 after 40 years of active service, including approximately four years in “phased modernization,” the report noted.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would reauthorize and reform a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that permits the National Security Agency to monitor communications of non-U.S. citizens outside the country as part of counterterrorism efforts.

A press release posted Friday on Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Virginia) website stated that the USA Liberty Act would establish a new framework of protections and transparency standards to help ensure that government agencies preserve individual liberties while using FISA’s Section 702 for surveillance.

The proposed bill would create new accountability measures to address the disclosure of U.S. citizens’ identities and enforce reporting requirements on the number of Americans that have been monitored under Section 702 surveillance programs.

The legislation would also increase penalties for persons who leak classified information as well as foster information sharing between intelligence agencies and allies to fight terrorism.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has said there are several things the service needs to address in space operations and one of those is the establishment of a common system for command and control in an effort to build up situational awareness in space, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

“In the future as we update satellites that are going to be an open architecture system and we are no longer going to buy satellites with exquisite, kind of science experiment control systems,” Wilson said Thursday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event.

“You have to have a common system for command and control, so if it doesn’t plug into the common system we’re not going to buy it,” she added.

Wilson noted that the U.S. government should prioritize the establishment of a policy in order to deter future attacks in the space domain and collaborate with international partners to develop rules on the use of space.

“How do we establish norms of behavior in what will be a much more congested domain?,” she said.

“This will take some time, but it’s not an unknown thing; it’s not completely new.”

Secretary Wilson will be addressing the Potomac Officer’s Club as a keynote speaker at the 2017 Space: Innovations, Programs, and Policies Summit to be held Oct. 18, 2017 at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.