December 14, 2021
Will Strong Actions Follow Words in Biden’s Space Policy?
The bipartisan nature of space policy has allowed collaboration across the federal government and a continuity between administrations that is rare in the national security world. The new Space Priorities Framework [PDF] released earlier this month by the Biden White House follows in that tradition, reaffirming space priorities that will allow the US government to catch up with the American commercial space sector and protect national interests in an increasingly contested domain.
From that standpoint, the framework scores full marks for continuity in strategic priorities and some improved messaging, but these priorities must be followed by actions and investments. So what do the Biden administration and Congress need to do to walk the space walk?
From setting a strong anti-satellite weapons test policy to engaging in space traffic management, the United States needs to make several key decisions and investments in the coming months to begin following through on these commitments.
The United States is the world leader in space. A robust space program enables us to expand our alliances and partnerships and underpins our military strength.
In the new framework, consensus priorities include investment in space domain awareness capabilities, which serve important peacetime functions of preventing and resolving non-hostile threats (through space traffic management, or coordination) and deterring hostile acts (through demonstrated capabilities in detection and attribution). In wartime, space domain awareness capabilities help the United States respond to hostile acts when deterrence fails.
Two additional related lines of effort are the pursuit of improved acquisition processes for essential space technologies, investment in more resilient systems and architectures, and increased cooperation with other civil, commercial, or military space actors.
Read the full article from Breaking Defense.
More from CNAS
-
Iran and the U.S. Are Trapped In a War Neither Knows How to Win
Commentary
Both the US and Iran have adopted military strategies that can prevent defeat but cannot produce a decisive victory....
By Becca Wasser
-
GenAI.mil and Three Implications for National Security’s AI Era
Commentary
Introduction Roughly six months ago, the Department of War (DoW) launched its internal platform for hosting generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, known as GenAI.mil....
By Joshua Marcuse
-
Inside Taiwan’s Plan to Deter a Chinese Invasion
Video
As Taiwan runs its largest annual war games this week, we look at its strategy of overwhelming any Chinese invasion force with mass-produced, low-cost drones. It's a defense s...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Stocks Climb as Oil Pares Gain on Iran Deal Hopes
Podcast
Becca Wasser, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Bloomberg Surveillance to discuss missile stockpiles, the war in Iran, and a possible t...
By Becca Wasser
