Elsa B. Kania, Adjunct Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS/Defense One: China Has a ‘Space Force.’ What Are Its Lessons for the Pentagon?
The U.S. military must find new ways to leverage commercial innovation in order to contend with China in space.
The Chinese military seems to agree that the current U.S. approach to space is hindered by some serious shortcomings.
If the United States is to maintain military advantage in space, as President Trump has promised – and as his new Space Force is meant to do – U.S. policy and strategic decisions should be informed by an understanding of China’s ambitions to become an “aerospace superpower” (航天强国) – and how the Chinese military has reorganized itself to seek dominance in space (制天权).
Start with the way space is characterized in China’s military strategy: the “new commanding heights in strategic competition.” Once a sanctuary for U.S. satellites that have fostered unparalleled military capability, space is now recognized by Chinese military strategists as a critical U.S. vulnerability. Without reliable space support, U.S. capabilities for global C4ISR and precision strike will fail, and the U.S. military could be reduced to a level of merely mechanized warfare, by the assessment of one Chinese defense academic.
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WNU Editor: A sobering read. If true, China is on course to be a dominant force in space within a decade.
