RAND Updates (10 April 2024)

Comment on U.S. Space Command Commander, General Stephen Whiting Plenary Session: Whiting announced the expansion of Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER, the commands standing named operation in which the U.S. operates in space alongside our Australian, British, and Canadian Allies, to improve mission assurance and enhance our collective resilience. In its report entitled Allied by Design: Defining a Path to Thoughtful Allied Space Power RAND researchers investigate ways U.S. policy can more effectively achieve improved integration of allied space capabilities.??

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Attributable quote: “Expansion of Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER reflects a commitment to allied space operations, however, there remains much work to be done to achieve the broader objective of being “Allied by Design” in space. Our recommendations include a clear understanding of when and where cooperation and information sharing are possible, a DoD-wide approach to space related activities, and an operational analysis of key functional areas with a focus on collaboration.”?? --Bruce McClintock, RAND Space Enterprise Initiative Lead and senior policy researcher

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Comment on The Honorable Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering of the United States Plenary Session: Shyu calls for radiation enforcement and hardening in space and announces 1B Euro investment by NATO into space communications.

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Attributable quote: “By making this statement about radiation enforcement in front of the global audience of U.S. and foreign commercial and government space operators, she warns the global community about space threats without identifying what the U.S. might know that led to such a warning. All space systems would already be hardened against the background radiation of space, which makes her call-to-action novel and an increase over previous space defense.” –Cortney Weinbaum, RAND Senior Management Scientist

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Attributable quote: “This announced investment by NATO into bolstering space communications sends a message internationally to Putin about NATO preparing for resilient communication on the battlefield, and domestically to U.S. leaders who would accuse NATO of being too reliant on the U.S.” –Cortney Weinbaum, RAND Senior Management Scientist

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Comment on Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary, National Space Council Chirag Parikh Plenary Session: Parikh noted our military requirements exceed the capabilities we have, making our partners critical to our national security objectives.

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In its report entitled Leveraging Commercial Space Services: Opportunities and Risks for the Department of the Air Force RAND researchers examined two space-related markets that together represent the widest variation in market and firm maturity to identify distinct and cross-cutting themes that could be generalized to other commercial space markets not analyzed in this research.

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In its report entitled Getting Space Acquisition Right: Steps to Realize Enduring Change, RAND researchers explore: a “clean sheet” approach to space acquisition; how to ensure mission assurance while pursuing rapid acquisition approaches; and how to improve integration and synchronization with the stakeholder community.

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Attributable quote: “Space partnership have evolved at a faster pace than our export controls. The US exports expertise in space, cyber and various advanced military technologies and the US currently lacks a regulatory framework to prevent this expertise from reaching our adversaries advanced R&D laboratories.”? –Lisa Saum-Manning, Associate Director, International Security and Defense Policy Program; Political Scientist.

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Comment on NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Gen. Philippe Lavigne Plenary Session: Gen. Lavigne noted that the core tenets of deterrence are the same for space as they are for other domains.

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In its report entitled Tailoring Deterrence for China in Space, RAND researchers consider deterrence concepts and examine how a deterrence strategy could be tailored to recognize the unique characteristics of the space domain and the particular objectives of China in space.

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Attributable quote: “While many of the core tenets of deterrence are the same for space as other domains, a deterrence strategy should be tailored to recognize the unique characteristics of the space domain, and the involvement of key allies and partners in that deterrence strategy is critical.”? –Krista Langeland, RAND Space Enterprise Initiative Deputy Lead, and Senior Physical Scientist.