U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command leaders say offensive weapons are top priorities

Offensive weapons to hold adversaries’ space systems at risk are top priorities for U.S. Space Force, Space Command .

Details on what kinds of weapons they want remain scarce, and the implications of a space war still gave some officials pause when discussing counterspace and space dominance.

For years , talk of developing, let alone using, offensive weapons in space was taboo.

A nation can’t deter another without exposing some sense of its capability.

Space is a crucial enabler no matter the domain, and its use can be attacked in space, with electronic warfare by means of spectrum jamming, and by attacking the ground stations and networks needed to use them.

Others fear pushing the counterspace argument too far, too fast, at the risk of befouling the domain with clouds of post-attack kinetic debris.

The failure to develop clear policy and the weapons to back up that policy is itself a risk.

Without programs specifically designed to hold an adversary’s space assets at risk, the U.S. cedes options that could influence future conflict in its favor.

Space Force needs a combination of land, sea, air, and space-based counterspace options.