Virtual conflicts set 15 years in the future allow U.S. leaders to explore the pros and cons of using military space power in terrestrial battles.
Beefing up U.S. military space capabilities beyond what current budget projections permit would enhance the Pentagon's deterrent capabilities, a group of current and retired U.S. military officers said during a war game here. Potential adversaries would think twice about attempting to disrupt U.S. satellites if they knew there was plenty of backup capability available, officers said. In addition, the U.S. military could use its space systems to send subtle but clear warnings to its enemies, they said.
Spurred by the increased reliance of the U.S. military and the U.S. economy on satellites, and facing a new secretary of defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, who is more focused on space than his predecessors were, the Air Force's Space Warfare Center here staged the military's first major war game to focus on space as the primary theater of operations, rather than just a supporting arena for combat on earth.