Air & Space Forces Mag
• Courtney Albon
The U.S. Space Force is providing direct combat support in operations against Iran, using electromagnetic warfare to disrupt air-defense and communications systems while also supplying satellite communications, navigation and missile-warning capabilities. The conflict is highlighting the service’s expanding role in integrated military operations.
Space Defense & Militarization
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Air Force and Space Force leaders are prioritizing faster production and larger inventories of weapons and space capabilities, even as supply-chain constraints continue to limit industrial capacity. The shift puts scalability, manufacturing resilience and the defense sector’s ability to deliver at speed at the center of acquisition strategy.
The U.S. Space Force is providing direct combat support in operations against Iran, using electromagnetic warfare to disrupt air-defense and communications systems while also supplying satellite communications, navigation and missile-warning capabilities. The conflict is highlighting the service’s expanding role in integrated military operations.
SpaceX is scheduled to launch its second classified mission for the U.S. Space Force in less than a week on Sept. 15. The launch will be available to watch live, offering another public view of the company’s rapidly paced national-security launch activity.
British startup Shield Space has completed the critical design review for Broadsword, a 2027 mission intended to demonstrate in-orbit satellite inspection. The company says defense customers could deploy the capability within nine months of signing a contract, positioning rapid inspection as a near-term space-security service.
High activity
The number of satellites launched to provide militaries and defense departments with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data from space is expected to increase more than fourfold over the next decade, according to Novaspace, signaling sustained expansion in defense-oriented orbital infrastructure.
High activity
Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink has publicly acknowledged for the first time that the United States has deployed “on-orbit space control weapons” capable of defending the joint force. He did not disclose whether the systems are kinetic or non-kinetic, prompting renewed scrutiny of space warfare and international law.
Satellite operators are repositioning around sovereign space strategies, integrating capabilities across multiple domains and collaborating more closely with the technology ecosystem. The shift highlights how defense requirements and artificial intelligence are reshaping satellite operators’ roles beyond traditional space-based services.
High activity
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the United States has deployed space-control weapons on orbit, marking the first public disclosure by a U.S. official, according to the reports. He did not identify the systems or say whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic.
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