Future adversaries will likely strike at Air Force space-based communication, intelligence, and battlefield enablement systems, and the service must be prepared to absorb the blow, Air Force Undersecretary Eric Fanning said. “We cannot assume that our deployed systems will either be inaccessible or unnoticed, and thus undisturbed” in future conflicts, Fanning during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs on May 20. “Our potential adversaries are well aware of the distinct advantages that our space systems provide us, and they are developing counter-space capabilities in pursuit of asymmetric goals,” he added in a service report. Fanning said that “a larger constellation of smaller satellites” may be both cheaper and add more redundancy in critical mission areas.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
