Military space leaders are putting the preponderance of their efforts into seamlessly integrating space into all other defense functions, particularly in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. So said top USAF and defense officers at AFA’s National Symposium on Space in Los Angeles Friday. Gen. Robert Kehler, newly minted head of Air Force Space Command, said he’s aiming for “new math” that makes the integration of air and space not like one plus one equals two, but “20 or 100 or 10,000.” Adding in cyber operations will expand capabilities tenfold again, Kehler said. Without integration, ISR provided by space will get better but not be transformational. However, for the near future, information will still tend to travel through stovepipes, “or perhaps we should call them, cylinders of excellence,” Kehler joked.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.