NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Guardians are playing a critical role in U.S. operations against Iran, applying electronic warfare effects to stifle enemy air defenses and communication systems and contributing other space capabilities vital to the war effort, said Gen. Douglas Schiess in his first major address one since becoming Chief of Space Operations 12 days ago.
In fact, Schiess said, Operation Epic Fury may not have happened at all without the Space Force.
“Our Guardians have been tested several times this past year. When the order came for Epic Fury, the Space Force was a part of the decision calculus on whether we executed the joint campaign at all—we were part of the minimum force package,” Schiess said Sept. 15 at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md. “This is the minimum force required that a commander considers when sending military forces into harm’s way. The Joint Force made it clear: Without the Space Force’s capabilities, the Joint Force could not—and would not—move forward.”
Since the start of the conflict in late February, U.S. officials have touted space systems’ importance to operations. During a briefing in early March, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said U.S. Space Command was among the “first movers” during initial strikes on Iran, helping create a path for the joint force to strike more than 1,000 targets in the campaign’s first 24 hours.
“During Operation Epic Fury, our components, notably at U.S. Central Command and Space Command—with support from components at European Command and Pacific Command—demonstrated that Guardians are not supporting from the sidelines as a ‘nice to have,’” said Schiess, who previously oversaw operations for the Space Force prior to becoming CSO. “We are delivering spacepower directly into the fight as a ‘need to have.’”
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command have provided broad details on space effects that have contributed to the effort, and Schiess’ comments underscore just how important the Space Force has been in U.S. efforts against Iran. A key role of the Space Force in the conflict, U.S. officials have told Air & Space Forces Magazine, is the use of electronic warfare to disrupt Iranian air defenses to clear a path for U.S. strike aircraft.
During his speech, Schiess shared a dramatic example of the Space Force’s EW efforts. A Guardian he referred to only as Specialist Gray, who deployed to CENTCOM with the 42nd Electronic Warfare Detachment in the opening hours of Operation Epic Fury, played a particular role.
“She received a priority target package with one critical objective: reconfigure her weapon system and execute critical non-kinetic fires,” Schiess said.
She continued to operate a key EW console as enemy missiles targeted her site.
“Even as Alarm Red sirens were blaring and incoming missiles targeted her site, she courageously held the line—protecting forces, denying adversary capability, and delivering space effects until her commander had to literally pull her from the console to safety,” he said.
Like every service component in CENTCOM, U.S. Space Forces-Central has contributed to U.S. targeting, locating targets such as Iranian jammers for other platforms’ strikes.
The Space Force is also using sensors and radars that can detect incoming Iranian missiles aimed at U.S. bases, providing critical minutes of warning to allow service members to escape to cover and allowing base air defenders to be ready to combat the threats with Patriot and THAAD ballistic missile interceptors, U.S. officials said. Iran has attacked U.S. bases dozens of times since the conflict began on Feb. 28, and the Space Force’s intelligence assets are monitoring Iranian activity.
The Space Force is delivering “combat-credible forces to combatant commands,” Schiess said, to “give combatant commanders like Adm. Cooper in Central Command the space capabilities needed to fight and win.”
Iran has validated the importance of U.S. space assets by hitting back at them. U.S. missile defense and space assets have prime targets for Iranian missiles and drones, which have struck and damaged radar sites throughout the region.
“A bad day in space is felt by everyone—it’s felt by our Joint Force, it’s felt by our nation’s economy, and the citizens all around that rely on space capabilities,” Schiess said. “Guardians, we cannot fail, and we know that we won’t.”
