November 21, 2016
The Growing Competition in the Ocean of Space: Classic Maritime Strategy Applied to the Final Frontier
The United States needs a new lexicon that explains the space environment in clear terms. Whether Americans like it or not, space has morphed from ouraspirational “final frontier” to an area defined by growing international competition that could flash into a hot war. Recent actions by rising powers have left the United States and the West with the realization that they can no longer look to international law as the guarantor of peace in space. U.S. military commanders are now testifying to the emerging threats to U.S. interests in space and policymakers are contemplating how best to approach this competition – first swinging towards cooperation with foreign space programs and then away. The vastness of space, the extreme speeds associated with orbiting platforms, and the mathematical complexities of maneuvering place discussions on space tactics and strategy literally into the realm of rocket science.
Read the full article at The National Interest
More from CNAS
-
The Department of Defense’s Breakthrough Nuclear Moment Risks Slipping Away
Commentary
Unless they act, the Department of Defense’s breakthrough nuclear moment may vanish before it really happens....
By Will Rogers
-
DEFAERO Strategy Series [Apr 09, 25] CNAS' Becca Wasser and Phil Sheers on Revitalizing the U.S. Defense Industrial Base
Podcast
On this episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Strategy Series, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Becca Wasser and Phil Sheers of the Center for a New Amer...
By Becca Wasser & Philip Sheers
-
From Production Lines to Front Lines
Reports
Executive Summary The U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is struggling to meet the demands of the current strategic environment—let alone prepare for a potential conflict agai...
By Becca Wasser & Philip Sheers
-
The Pentagon’s Endangered Brain Trust
Commentary
In this environment, sound assessments of emerging threats and new ideas to counter them will be especially vital....
By Dr. Andrew Krepinevich, Jr.
