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.
Former AFCENT Commander Reflects on Lessons of Epic Fury
Sept. 13, 2026
Operation Epic Fury marked the U.S. military's largest air campaign in a generation, with strikes on 13,000 targets in Iran before the first in a series of shaky ceasefires began in April. Now, even as hostilities continue to flare up, Lt. Gen. Derek C. France sees several clear lessons that…
