In the evolving landscape of space warfare, conflict is shifting into what experts commonly call the “gray zone.”
Unlike traditional conflicts defined by clear boundaries, rules of engagement and identifiable actors, space battles in the gray zone are ambiguous, with military and civilian activities that can be difficult to discern.
“It’s crucial for U.S. policymakers and military leaders to understand the nuances of future competition in space, and how it will likely play out,” said John Klein, military strategist and adjunct professor at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.
As the U.S. military seeks to defend American interests in space, it must prepare not only for outright war but also for gray zone tactics that allow rivals to achieve strategic goals without triggering full conflict, Klein said in an interview.
U.S. strategic competitors like China and Russia have become skilled at gray zone activities both on Earth and increasingly in space, he said, such as cyberattacks, satellite jamming and other activities that are hard to attribute definitively.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said the U.S. has recognized these new dynamics taking shape in the space domain, and the Space Force has adopted a strategy of “competitive endurance” to handle protracted rivalry with China and Russia.
The challenge is to actively contest the space power of foreign rivals, he said, even when nations are not actually at war.
“I would prefer to be in a state of competition with the People’s Republic of China, compared to the alternatives of crisis or conflict,” Saltzman said Oct. 18 at the Center for a New American Security.
More attention paid to conventional war
Some experts worry the U.S. military remains too focused on conventional warfighting rather than honing its skills for gray zone competition.
Audrey Schaffer, a former space policy official at the White House…
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