US Strategic Command held its first Joint Space Doctrine and Tactics Forum last week to work out new concepts and tactics that address orbital threats and challenges, STRATCOM boss Adm. Cecil Haney said Feb. 6 during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event in Washington, D.C. Haney said he has tasked the Joint Space Operations Center leadership at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to adjust US strategic posture on orbit to better “characterize the operational environment,” and work to develop new tools, tactics, partnerships, and “command and control relationships.” During the forum, participants addressed “doctrinal, cultural, programmatic, and organizational issues” in space. The gathering brought together leaders from across the space community for “candid discussions” on how to coordinate efforts and how to identify gaps to better prioritize investments. Haney said it was a good opportunity to see different solutions to enhance exiting satellite capabilities in “congested and contested environments,” and how to maintain advantage in degraded scenarios.
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…