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Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey receives his third star from his children, Tatjana and Justin, during a promotion ceremony at the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, headquarters, Jan. 9, 2024. (US Army photo by Carrie David Campbell)
WASHINGTON — Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) is moving out to implement its new(ish) space “vision,” expanding both the number of personnel for planning and operations as well as their scope of deployment, according to SMDC Commander Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey.
“As we look out into 2030, we know from all the Army warfighting concepts that we have to grow space capability, and we have to grow air defense missiles,” he told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) today.
The Army published its “Army Space Vision Supporting Multidomain Operations [PDF]” in January, initiating a transformation in how SMDC works to integrate space with its day-to-day planning, exercises and operations in the field — as well as fight in an environment where such capabilities may may be degraded.
“Successful operations in and through the space domain will be critical to our success. Space has become more important as both enabler and dependency to our Warfighting. Commanders at all echelons have access to, rely on, and can be observed by the space-based assets of allies and competitors alike,” the vision document explains.
The document mandates two main Army space missions:
- Integrate friendly joint, coalition, and commercial space capabilities in support of all
Army Warfighting Functions to include positioning, navigation, and timing; deep sensing;
beyond line-of-sight communications; force tracking; environmental monitoring; space domain awareness; and geospatial information. - Interdict adversary space capabilities by delivering necessary fires and effects at echelon to protect friendly forces from observation and targeting by counter-satellite
communications, counter-surveillance and reconnaissance, and navigation warfare operations.
Gainey said a key focus right now for SMDC’s 1st Space Brigade, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is on planning for how space capabilities can support multi-domain operations.
“We got to grow more space control planning teams. We’re doing that. We’re growing an additional space control planning company,” he said.
The brigade established its first three space control planning teams back in 2021.
In addition, Gainey said SMDC is working to expand its pilot effort to establish a Theater Strike Effects Group (TSEG) at Indo-Pacific Command to the other regional combatant commands. The TSEG concept was originated in the vision document, which described them as units that “can synchronize and deliver Army space interdiction fires in support of theater targeting objectives.”
“[W]e believe that each COCOM should have resident one of those elements inside to be able, from the theater level all the way to the major command level, leverage [space capabilities]. So, resident in there are space control type capabilities that I know my team is working closely with industry on,” he said.
Gainey added that under a “larger program of record,” SMDC is pursuing “smaller form factor,” easily maneuverable, prototype space systems that can be rapidly fielded.
For example, the 1st Brigade in April participated in Army Special Operations Forces exercises bringing a prototype system to monitor the health of “friendly satellite communications links,” according to a service press release. And during this year’s Project Convergence Capstone 4, held Feb. 23 to March 20, the Army also tested small systems for satellite communications.
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