Chief of Space Operations Gen. Saltzman said the Space Force would like $700 million for cybersecurity.
Since Gen. Saltzman’s address to congress, he is intent on increasing cybersecurity for the Space Force as he worries about possible anti-satellite (ASAT) technology is being heavily and rapidly developed by our near peer adversary China. Russia is also somewhere in the fog of concern since the relatively recent discovery of a new ASAT system Kalina.
This push for stronger cybersecurity is a result of Russians targeting satellite systems during its invasion of Ukraine. The Space Force has a budget request of $30 billion for fiscal year 2024 which includes the $700 million to “enhance the cyber defense of our critical networks associated with space operations,” said Gen. Saltzman.
He noted that the Space Force is investing the funds into more training for operators and software and hardware to combat the future enemy on the new battle space.
There’s no question that space is going to be central to effective operations in the future. Russia’s electronic and cyberattacks in the early days of the invasion were a wake-up call.
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations.
Opinion
The now long-drawn-out invasion of Ukraine (due to Russian military incompetence) has given the world a very good demonstration of how far they have fallen since the USSR. The once formidable adversary appears to have some very pressing issues on the ground.
Cyberattacks were carried out during the initial phases of the invasion. Notably military related websites which got shut down by Russian attacks. Satellites were also among the targets for cyberattack in order to diminish Ukraine’s ability to communicate.
The issue that the Space Force is something that the Air Force experienced when developing the OCX GPS satellite constellation. It was updated with cybersecurity tools which caused plenty of issues during operation. Adding cybersecurity features to already established (not to mention orbiting) satellites has caused some drastic issues. In the OCX satellites it was delays. Which is not very good for GPS satellites.
I am hopeful that the Space Force will harden the United States’ space assets to better counter enemy action. So long as they can overcome the hurdles necessary.
