15 May 2023
General David D. Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations
Budget Growth for USSF:
-$30 billion dollars in FY24 Budget request, increase $3.9 billion dollars, 15% increase over previous year…the only service to see 12 to 15% budget increases year to year since our establishment…
Two Things That Tie into Combat Ready Forces:
-Provide space capabilities that the joint force needs across the spectrum of conflict to include nuclear.
-Deny an adversary from using their space capabilities against the Armed Forces and the United States…If do not do that, then national security of the United States at risk…
Highlights of Budget:
-Continue to push hard in the direction of resilient proliferated architecture…missile warning and missile tracking, not because have to go there to provide [needed] capability…but also approach to deal with emerging threats.
-25 and beyond that is tremendous growth areas space-based data communication…how it needs to fight wars in the future…long-range war, integrated…sensors passing data to decision makers…passing data to firing units, weapons in flight…increasing space based surveillance network…saw in 24 going to see more…also needs to be resilient.
-$7B in classified capabilities…things that we need to protect capabilities…
Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) Initiative:
-Push to foundational capabilities…educate, train, develop guardians…critically to ensure…that [forces] we present actually have been trained and are prepared to fight…live virtual simulated training opportunities, true threat replication…[from] small unit scale all the way up to large exercises…that’s the way other services have trained…
-Press resilience, maintain space superiority, protect and defend…ultimately foundational capabilities to educate, train, [with] OTTI.
Outlook Going Forward:
-Budget on Hill has been well received.
-Biggest threat to ability to get our job done in peacetime is continuing resolution (CR)…[causes] the inability to take advantage of increases year to year and new starts, none of those can start.
Biggest Challenge Today:
-Second piece is already looking at FY25. We have been very blessed with increases… We are not planning for increases year [after] year like we have seen in the past.
-Discussion was what can we add…what capabilities do we have… Now the discussion is what do I have today? Is it really what I need…versus things that aren’t in budget today….
Q&A
Budget Priorities and Potential Push Back:
Q: What do you think are the most critical must-do items that you’re fighting hardest for? What has been the pushback?
-Press toward resilient architectures…have got to survive, need to be able to degrade gracefully under attack.
-MW/MT, space data relay…GMTI is a huge win for the nation, going to be a proliferated design…continue to push in that regard as well as space based relay and comms…protect and defend capabilities to deny adversary use of space.
-Not really seeing any significant pushback. Leadership in White House, DoD, Congress, all really do understand the need for space capabilities and threats faced and are all eager to figure out how to do those two things…
Public Knowledge of Space Force
Q: Are people still asking at three+ years why we need a space force?
-I have not heard that question statement for a very long time…Now I get a lot of ‘you know I didn’t think so, but now I’m a big fan and I get it now and also, you are doing alright.’
POM FY24
Q: Building POM FY24, only third time, no real pushback this year but overall, how has it been for the service?
-Been challenging for 1) growing so quickly in terms of budget capability and 2) making sure to make smart investments…in the middle of a pivot at some architecture…need to find balance maintaining capability as bringing on new ones…
-Force design at SWAC… putting in that new capability, can’t just snap fingers to put in people and tools in place for complex analysis…SWAC in the middle of now space based data rely design…significant things they’re doing in FY25.
-Ensuring all ties into the rest of the joint force…from SWAC, to the budget shop in pentagon, to field commands.
Space Force Investments:
Q: Budget sends signal to industry on where to invest. What trajectories did you signal?
-With Assistant Secretary Calvelli…recent formula put out smaller satellites, technology is proven, limited in R&E, fixed priced contracts/30 month contracts a great guideline for large majority of capabilities need…Space Development Agency, Space RCO, look at SSC their movement in that regard…approach taking now and into future is really commercial market.
-SSC, commercial services to commercial office (COMSO) with Col Richard Kniseley…looking at how can link commercial services [to not only] commercial SATCOM, [but also] data rely aspect to it, proliferated constellations, space domain awareness, commercial space situational awareness…our latest launch strategy for the next phase of NSSL is increasingly commercial like.
-Cloud and IT like services…can get those services commercially …ability to get data, process data and move somewhere…requires IT infrastructures storage, compute, movement…
Cybersecurity/Cloud Environment/IT:
Q: Biggest concerns, regarding cloud environment and security?
-Think challenge we all face…far too often National Security uses…to hind behind…
-Will tell you working together with commercial sector understand cybersecurity what willing to do with us and for us…and then they will work with us with additional security aspects…
Partnerships:
Q: Execution on partnerships, international piece, combatant commands, regional space adviser program…Are you satisfied with current level of funding? Where do you see them going in the future?
-Those initiatives, level of funding is fine…establishing components of combatant commands…closer partnerships…
-Challenge is not so much the budget, it's people…number of people is growing so rapidly. 12-15% year over year budget increase…provided filling out new organizations created to build a new service… Force started at 12000, now 16,000…
-The problem is 1) training/education/physical infrastructure is hard and 2) it’s ok if half of those people come in the traditional sense, but at least half of those need to come in as experienced folks. For us can we get enough guardians in [and] are they at the right maturity level…
-[Example] defense attaché establishes…we don’t need guardians in every nation on, but certainly…third party nonaligned potential adversaries…space officers in those embassies growing…
Flexible Reserves:
Q: Flexible Reserve, what authorities do you need?
-Number one legislative priority for General Saltzman and Secretary Kendall’s number one space related priority…bringing together active-duty components and reserve components…talking about reserves in specific defined sense, not the guard…that is a different discussion.
-Reason [we want to go to this] 1) traditional reserve structure…doesn’t fit our needs...Air Force reserve units reserve associate…GPS, command and control, Missile Warning/Missile Tracking…aligned with those, but have with them a whole separate administrative structure…
-We don’t need separately aligned structure, just need to have people that can work full time and part time status under same structure….maybe try something else, sabbatical, personal education…want to have the authority to work with needs of Space Force… flexibility and importance of that that meets need of Space Force and meets needs of individuals…doesn’t have separate administrative structure…
-Excitement of Congress, excitement from DoD, may be others pathfinder…hopefully see pass in 24.
Best Practices from USSF:
Q: [Best practices from other services and best practices you’re finding for USSF?]
-I was initially naïve to think we could create USSF from a clean sheet of paper. We all came with a culture. Years with Air Force doing space related culture…came from Army, Army Space Culture…folks that came in from Navy…has a Navy space culture…blending that culture, still trying to forage what it means to be a guardian, think on a good track…
-This one got right, with Pentagon fast agile, different, and had to integrate national security enterprise that exists today…but where we have to face reality is where to integrate the rest of the Pentagon process…
-Still have to integrate into the joint requirements process…
-We need powerful vocal advocates in all ways shapes and forms…also need to be our critics to tell you where failing…
Audience Q&A
Proliferated LEO
Q: How significant is the development of a proliferated constellation?
-Ukraine [as example] one value benefit of resiliency of commercial constellations, not for lack of trying that those constellations continue to provide capabilities. Now government and commercial, working intently on policy and law of use in conflict…
-Going forward making sure this is the case, good luck trying to attack a space system you are going to fail…figure out ways to soak out mistrust, understanding perhaps data see isn’t data…
-Overall force design inside the DoD and with allies/partners to do that…have to understand what we can and must do…
Satellite Services and Refueling:
Q: USSF has plus up from budget…SSC standing up new office to handle that…no funding in FY24, do you see budget in future and where do you see that going?
-Great area of investigation yet to go…we wrote requirements documents in space services…movement and logistics…we want to buy that as a commercial service…whole host of potential uses in that regard…
-In space services…need ready to use as soon as the market is there… [Still trying to figure out] should we put that together under a broader mobility and logistics concept…
-Starts with on-the ground launch…should I be delivering spacecraft to orbit…should launch [a satellite with] full tank of gas…launch let me fill on orbit…design spacecraft to be refueled three four times?…Whole bunch of design to figure out what makes sense…I don’t know if we are ready to go there yet, don’t know if USSF has to lead…
-In orbit assembly, study, analyze and think, that’s probably a case where we will watch others…
-What I don’t believe in, everything in space refueled…proliferated constellation…build fast, build couple years…why would I spend time, effort, money in space service activities…[if] I want to upgrade technology…
-More work to do to understand scope and how want to use it.
Unfunded Priorities:
Q: Efforts to get an unfunded list funded, some steps in future to get some items off those lists?
-Congress tells us to give an unfunded list…great support in budget…there are always more things we can do with more money.
-Challenge continues to fund what shouldn’t, Congress helps us be better stewards…at same time 1, 2, 3, 4 things have a little more money…do the best can with budget have…
Power Alternatives in Space:
Q: Increase power in space? Looking past solar and some other things? Do you think budget aligned today helps in area?
-Power generation space in traditional sense, solar panels….cheaper to produce easier to fly…couple of technology, space solar power demo manufacture large in terms of area, and relatively inexpensive
-If can get off of solar panels other power…some utility for that…NASA talked about need…nuclear…other ways to generate power. Look again nuclear propulsion, in space power, should be an opportunity to do more.
Space Domain Awareness:
Q: Necessity of domain awareness for USSF? What is the scope of engaging with industry when it comes to SDA?
-Focus area for a few years…finally starting to use commercial space situational awareness, and use commercial data in ways that haven’t before…open in tap so use efficiency process…RF data, space object data…getting better at using commercial data our purposes…
-Our partnership with Department of Commerce, we’re trying to help them and encourage them.
-There’s tremendous capability still not been tapped by broader national security.
Data Throughput:
Q: What do you see as the top communication challenge? Data throughput, power efficiency latency?
-Think it will be throughput…when you look at…what we need as part of space data transfer…large throughput capability…
-Should we [use] commercial, buy our own, hybrid between two? Putting in place mechanisms to have enough throughput to meet needs.
Agile Force:
Q: [USSF structure] new standard? Establish a new norm, flatten general officer channel redistribute funding considering other needs?
-Yes, in some ways…removed two layers, echelons of command from very beginning based on AF model.
-The numbered AF model, command level, not a requirement for us…made those once called it field commands…O-6’s colonel/group and wings made delta…cannot and should not collapse those layers anymore.
-Feedback getting from field commands especially SPOC…that is a horizontal organization...not looking at adding another layer of command…looking at different reporting chains…to take some authority off SPOC commander…goes back to question at pentagon…
-Space Force belongs to every combatant command…every component… INDOPACOM, need at least a one-star to get into the room to have conversations you need to have with INDOPACOM commander…EUCOM next obvious one…in geographical compensated command, need a general officer…have to find somewhere else inside Space Force organization…
-Question is, is going too thin too much…
OTTI/Virtual Warfighting Center:
Q: With push in OTTI initiative, do you see venues like virtual warfighter, need developed as gap filler, or quick enough to lean hard into [the initiative] sooner?
-Going to take time. Virtual Warfighter Center, tremendous integration capability. Unless someone else plans to move beyond the Warfare Center…better models, better integration capabilities…
[End]
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