Space Force capabilities are deployed “inside the threat zone” and deeply integrated into joint operations against Iran, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said April 1.
While the impact of aircraft, ships, and weapons used in the war thus far has been visible to a large degree, space operations and capabilities have played a largely unseen role, providing critical communication, navigation, targeting, and other effects. Those integrated effects and personnel are part of the larger Operation Epic Fury campaign, during which the U.S. military has struck over 12,300 targets, according to U.S. Central Command.
Speaking at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Forum in Arlington, Va., Saltzman confirmed that the Space Force’s component to CENTCOM, Space Forces Central, has played a role in Iran operations, which have showcased both the degree to which space systems are integrated with joint operations and the challenges that come with protecting space systems and personnel during combat.
“They’re in the combat domain, and that means we have to do force protection,” Saltzman said. “We have to make sure we can continue to do the mission under attack, and they’ve been able to do that effectively. That’s what’s been impressive, making sure that the continuous application of space effects into the joint force have not faltered despite being under attack from the adversary.”
In a March 30 update on Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the U.S. military has achieved “space superiority” in the context of ongoing Iran operations, meaning that it can operate freely in the domain and has denied the adversary’s ability to do so. Saltzman acknowledged that because Iran’s space capabilities are nascent, “it wasn’t really a fair fight from a space superiority standpoint.”
“I’m not looking for fair fights,” he said. “My job is to make sure that Guardians have what they need to gain and maintain space superiority—and they did. …To Adm. Cooper’s credit, he recognized that if we don’t have space superiority, whatever that means in this particular instance, decision superiority is going to lag, air superiority is going to require extra effort down the line. And so he saw it as a continuum of effects that he needed to achieve. He turned that over to Space Forces Central, and they got the job done.”
Defense Department officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, have identified space forces as among the “first movers” in Operation Epic Fury, helping pave the way for initial strikes against Iran in late February and providing persistent communications, navigation, missile warning, electronic warfare, and other effects throughout the operation. CENTCOM hasn’t provided details on what systems are being used or how many Guardians are deployed, but has highlighted the Space Force’s role in helping to degrade Iranian capabilities and protect U.S. forces.
While Saltzman, too, declined to discuss specifics, he said the Space Force’s contributions in Iran line up fairly well with its core capabilities.
“You don’t have to think too hard to understand what it is that Guardians are bringing to the fight,” he said. “All of the missions that we do—missile warning, satellite communications. The links are vital. Over-the-horizon communications is as important now as it has ever been. We create disruption for an adversary. That’s part of what we do.”
Saltzman said Guardians are “integrated throughout the warfighting enterprise,” including at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., and Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., which hosts the headquarters of the command’s air component, Air Forces Central. Guardians are also forward deployed, he said, though he did not specify those locations.
“It doesn’t feel like space was just added on to the operations,” he said. “From day one, because we have that service component out there integrated, we are baked in from the beginning. In other words, the plan didn’t move forward without the Guardians of the Space Force fully integrated as part of and key to that joint force.”
Pentagon Editor Chris Gordon contributed to this article.