Speaking at the Australian Space Summit & Exhibition, Brigadier General Anthony J. Mastalir said the relationship had grown “more meaningful and perhaps more consequential” over the last two years.
“Space Force guardians work hand in hand with our allies and partners in this region to support and preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said on stage. “And none is closer than our allies here in Australia.”
Brig. Gen. Mastalir flew into Sydney to headline Space Connect’s conference from his base in Hawaii.
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He used his address to industry to detail the role space now plays in helping conventional military domains and discuss the importance of interoperability between allies.
“The People’s Republic of China’s anti-axis area denial strategy is increasingly dependent on their own space capabilities that make their forces more capable, and more lethal,” he warned.
“Now mitigating these threats, these risks are exactly, in part, why US Space Forces was established to safeguard our assets in the space domain and protect the joint and coalition forces from space-enabled attack.
“Space Force guardians work hand in hand with our allies and partners in this region to support and preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.
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“And none is closer than our allies here in Australia. Indeed, our partnership and space goes well back before the establishment of US Space Forces Indo-Pacific, but I believe our relationship has grown more meaningful and perhaps more consequential just over the past two years.”
Brig. Gen. Mastalir also warned that the increasing number of satellites in orbit meant the domain was at an “inflexion point” with life on Earth increasingly dependent on space.
“Space industry experts estimate that over the next decade, an additional 10 or 10s of 1,000s of satellites will be launched and placed into orbit,” he said.
“Now, a population increase of that magnitude causes potential friction points. And it’s important that we consider those challenges today and are prepared to address them.
“Everyone knows that space has become integral to our way of life. You can tell me, as well as anyone, how important it is to a number of industry sectors, including national security.
“When you consider the second and third-order effects, you have the global economy, including global trade and banking, think about natural disaster warning and response.
“Not to mention persistent monitoring of the ozone layer carbon dioxide levels, and polar ice distribution, global communications including your cell phones, and the internet, and the gig economies that were derived from those capabilities.
“Without space, we’d see impacts on farming and food distribution. Television, whether satellite, cable, or streaming, would be severely degraded and, in some cases, suffer a total collapse without the preservation of the space domain.
“And of course, space capabilities are absolutely critical to national security. US and allied forces rely heavily on space-based capabilities to project and employ power globally. And that, in part, is why we need to move rapidly to a resilient and interoperable force with our allies and partners as we prepare the joint force and combined force for great power competition.”
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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