US Space Command Commander General Stephen N Whiting and USSPACECOM command senior enlisted leader Space Force Chief Master Sergeant Jacob Simmons travelled to the region from 18 to 28 April.
“It is a privilege to be here to represent the women and men who work tirelessly to fulfil our moral obligation of providing global space capabilities to the Joint Force, our nation, and our alliance partners, and to discuss ways we can expand our cooperation and contributions to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Whiting said.
“Like USINDOPACOM, we are seriously focused on our pacing challenge, the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
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“And we find that when we operate in a unified fashion with our allies and partners, that builds deterrence and ensures that there will never be a day without space for our militaries and for our national populations.”
The first stop of the multi-day trip included meetings in Hawaii with US Indo-Pacific Command, military service component commanders, and USSPACECOM’s Joint Integrated Space Team.
Discussions focused on the multi-domain threats posed by the PRC, concerns with increasing cooperation between competitor nations, including the PRC, Russia, Iran, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and opportunities for greater Joint Force and partner nation integration.
“The People’s Republic of China is moving at breathtaking speed in space and they are rapidly developing a range of counter-space weapons to hold at risk our space capabilities, but they’re also using space to make their terrestrial forces more precise, more lethal, and more far-ranging,” Whiting said.
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“As we have seen with the events in the European and Central Command theatre of operations, the value of space is just foundational to all that we do in the military arena, and so we must protect and defend our space capabilities.”
The news comes after Space Connect announced the commander overseeing the US Space Force’s Indo-Pacific team will deliver an address at the Australian Space Summit and Exhibition later this month.
Brigadier General Anthony J Mastalir will detail the role space now plays in helping conventional domains of the military, alongside discussing the importance of interoperability between allies.
He’ll be joined later in the event by the Under Secretary of the US Air Force, Kristyn E Jones.
Jones is one of the most senior figures involved in the US Space Force and oversees the entire US Air Force’s annual budget of more than $205 billion.
As part of her role, she also directs the US Air Force’s strategy and policy development, weapons acquisition and technology investments while being the principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall.
Our event takes place on the 28 and 29 May at the ICC in Sydney. To find out more and book tickets, click here.
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