As Russia and China seek to expand their influence in space, Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, urged greater international cooperation to safeguard the domain at the South American Defense Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 20.
The U.S. has worked with regional partner nations across geographic domains in the Western Hemisphere for decades, but Whiting highlighted the need for growth in space domain partnerships.
"U.S. Space Command and U.S. Southern Command have become excellent partners in space -- working together for security cooperation and domain awareness," he said.
The program is a Southcom initiative -- a comprehensive system that integrates various data sources and technologies to improve situational awareness and understanding of activities in a specific domain.
Whiting emphasized its role in enhancing situational awareness and collaboration for space-based intelligence and surveillance capabilities, noting its positive impact on maritime domain awareness, countering illicit activities and disaster response.
He said China and Russia are seeking to establish space operation facilities in the Americas, likely including counterspace operations.
"Both nations are fielding a wide range of related weapons from reversible, nonkinetic systems like satellite communications jamming, GPS jamming and cyberattacks to direct ascent antisatellite missiles and co-orbital antisatellite weapons, putting friendly satellites at risk," he said.
Given this threat environment, Spacecom views partnerships and alliances as essential for enhancing space security and responding to emerging threats.
"We need capable partners who are willing to increase their capacity to effectively contribute to the team," Whiting said. "A partnered approach to enhance space security through sharing expertise, burden sharing and coordinated rapid, effective responses to emerging threats -- leaving no doubt to our opponents that we are stronger, more capable and always ready to counter any threat."