Industry Vital for Deterring Aggression in Space.

• Author: Klein, John J.
• Position: NDIN Perspective

* The White House issued its interim national security guidance in March, which addressed strategic competition with China, deterring and defending against aggression, and ensuring the safety, stability and security of the space domain.

From this initial guidance, U.S. policymakers and military leaders will soon begin formulating a new National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. To ensure U.S. competitive advantage and protect national security interests in space, it is paramount that the writers of these documents fully integrate the benefits coming from trusted industry partners into national security and defense strategies.

While the national security community generally appreciates the value of the services and capabilities derived from the commercial space sector--including space launch, Earth observation and satellite communications--it often overlooks one area of strategic importance and benefit: deterrence.

Many within the national security community often consider deterrence as the threat of credible and potentially overwhelming force or other retaliatory action against any would-be adversary sufficient to deter most potential aggressors from conducting hostile actions. This idea is also referred to as deterrence by punishment, which is a central element in nuclear deterrence strategy.

A lesser known--but equally important--aspect is deterrence by denial of benefit. This refers to the capability to deny the other party any gains from the action which is to be deterred. Denying benefit to potential adversaries can help convey the futility of conducting a hostile act. To be effective, this form of deterrence should be pursued in peacetime well before a threat manifests itself. It is in this area that commercial space capabilities and services can greatly contribute to deterring aggression.

In the space domain, industry partners contribute to deterrence by denial through the increased mission assurance and resiliency provided by space-enabled capabilities and services. This is due, in part, to the distributed and diversified nature of commercial space launch and satellite services. Distribution refers to using a number of nodes, working together, to perform the same mission or functions as a single node; diversification describes contributing to the same mission in multiple ways, using different platforms, orbits, or systems and capabilities.

Industry also contributes to deterrence by denial through multi-domain...