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Space command warns of growing orbital threats, debris and PNT vulnerability
Summary
U.S. Space Command and other Pentagon witnesses told the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee that space is an increasingly contested domain, with debris up ~90% since the command's reestablishment, rising cyber and counter-space threats, and a need for PNT resilience and on-orbit logistics.
Witnesses at the Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing said space is central to U.S. military operations and faces accelerating threats requiring both defensive measures and closer integration with commercial partners.
General Steven Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, told the committee that the number of objects in orbit has grown about 90% since Space Command's reestablishment six and a half years ago and called space debris a growing operational concern. "We do see it as a concern," he said, noting Space Command provides tracking and collision warnings to satellite owners worldwide.
Whiting and others also underscored broader on-orbit threats. He testified that adversaries have developed a range of counter-space capabilities from cyber operations and reversible jammers to direct anti-satellite systems and co-orbital maneuvers. "They would rather attack us using cyber because it's cheaper for them and harder for us to attribute," he said when discussing threats to U.S. space systems.
Assistant Secretary Mark Burkowitz said the administration's executive order and an interagency process will drive a national space security strategy and that the department is reviewing policy on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), including efforts to harden or provide terrestrial and space-based backups for GPS.
Members raised logistics and sustainment on orbit as a necessary enabler of maneuver warfare in space. Whiting argued that refueling, on-orbit logistics and sustainment would allow forces to maneuver for advantage rather than be static targets.
Committee members and witnesses agreed that many technical and operational specifics belong in the classified session, but raised public concerns about how the department will prioritize PNT resilience, expand domain awareness to approach near-real-time attribution, and mitigate debris and co-orbital inspection risks.
