Area Pressure main: Satellites are below menace, ‘we have to be ready’ – SpaceNews
Saltzman: ‘Personnel have to be properly trained. We have to have operational principles, we have to have ways that are validated’
WASHINGTON — Threats to U.S. satellites are turning into a lot more advanced and unpredictable, which will need new approaches of education and preparing for a doable conflict, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, U.S. main of room functions, stated Jan. 31.
Saltzman assumed command of the House Force in November and recently announced his priorities for the coming year, one of which is to field “combat ready forces.”
That usually means “we have to be resilient, we have to be prepared, and we have to be beat credible,” Saltzman informed reporters at the Pentagon.
He observed that one particular of the takeaways so significantly from the war in Ukraine is that room programs are increasingly essential to armed forces operations, and that satellites and the ground systems employed to handle them are becoming targeted. The obstacle for the U.S. navy is that its satellites are vulnerable, and Place Force operators have not been qualified for this new period of anti-satellite warfare.
The House Force is moving to modernize its constellations to be more resilient versus threats but obtaining sophisticated methods doesn’t make sure a all set pressure, mentioned Saltzman. “The personnel have to be trained. We have to have operational principles, we have to have practices that are validated, the operators have to follow those people tactics. We have to have intelligence to underpin how we’re going to use people programs.”
Saltzman explained there is funding in the 2024 spending plan for these initiatives. “I just cannot give you the distinct quantities but. But we are investing in producing what I’m loosely calling an ‘operational test and education infrastructure.’” he explained.
The instruction and testing infrastructure contains virtual simulators, schooling ranges and electronic twin environments to check equipment in a realistic setting, he mentioned.
In Ukraine there have been widely documented incidents of cyber attacks against satellite-primarily based communications devices and digital jamming of GPS navigation indicators. But the House Force has to be organized to reply to a wider assortment of eventualities, together with the most “stressing” types likely to be posed by China, he claimed. “I want to have a whole lot of adaptable solutions versus all the threats, regardless of what is requested of us.”
Saltzman said he supports efforts by Room Drive procurement organizations to accelerate innovation in satellites and floor units. But he explained a priority also will be “high fidelity simulators, a virtual schooling surroundings, possessing the selection infrastructure to exercise this ability, we have to obtain all that gear as perfectly. And we have to obtain it swiftly.”