The domain of space has fundamentally changed since the end of the Cold War, and in the 21st century, the United States will be one of many players on orbit, said Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center. That new landscape will present new risks and challenges, she said at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles last week. Today, 11 countries operate 22 launch sites, and 60 countries and consortia operate satellites on orbit, said Pawlikowski. Those numbers will only expand in the years ahead as space programs around the world grow, she said. The Defense Department tracks 22,000 objects on orbit today, including satellites and space debris, and making sure these objects don’t affect military and commercial space capabilities will be critical in the future, she added.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.