SOUTHCOM and SPACECOM underscore space’s vital role in Western Hemisphere security

Two senior U.S. military leaders used the opening of the Space Conference of the Americas to underscore the central role of space in countering shared threats across the Western Hemisphere and to press for deeper regional cooperation.

“Military strategy has long recognized the importance of controlling the high ground,” Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said at the April 28 session at SOUTHCOM headquarters in Doral, Florida. “In the 21st century, that high ground is space. We must seize the initiative to ensure supremacy over our adversaries in this key domain.”

Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, framed the evolution of warfare and institutions built to address it. “While our founding fathers were brilliant, visionary leaders, I find it hard to believe that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson could have ever predicted the need for a war fighting command dedicated to the domain of space,” Gen. Whiting said.

Unlike other geographic combatant commands, USSPACECOM’s area of responsibility is the “high ground” beyond Earth’s atmosphere, extending from roughly 100 kilometers above the planet to infinity.

Donovan said dominating and leveraging that domain with partners is essential to counter the influence of state actors. “China continues its malign activities via the Belt and Road Initiative to project hard power and threaten key terrain. The Western Hemisphere now hosts the largest collection of Chinese-built space infrastructure outside of mainland China, a direct result of the [Chinese Communist Party’s] understanding of this region’s importance to its global ambitions,” Gen. Donovan said.

“Together, we send an unmistakable message,” he added. “To our partners, it is a message of shared responsibility. And to our adversaries, it’s a message of shared resolve.”

Donovan highlighted recent operational impacts, citing Ecuador’s use of a U.S. Space Force satellite system to identify and destroy three clandestine airfields used by cartels. “That is space power directly enabling ground-truth success,” he said. “The key for us right now, as we look at these narco-terrorist networks, and we think about our actions from point of production to point of delivery in the plazas on the border of the U.S., we want to impose total systemic friction on those networks. And I believe our space capabilities will enable that,” Gen. Donovan said.

Both generals said advances in space technology shape everyday life and argued that growing ambitions by China and Russia in the hemisphere heighten the need to work together to secure the space domain and preserve its neutrality. “Most concerning of all,” Gen Whiting added, “Russia reportedly has plans to violate the Outer Space Treaty by launching a satellite capable of carrying a nuclear weapon in space. A nuclear weapon on orbit is unconscionable.”

Threats on Earth remain a focus of space-enabled cooperation, Whiting said. “We have a moral responsibility to provide space enabled solutions to address the terrestrial threats that compromise our way of life,” Gen. Whiting said. “And there are three terrestrial threats within this hemisphere … that space capabilities can help address, narco-terrorism, illegal mining, and illegal fishing.”

The conference aims to spur joint projects, data sharing, and the development of regional space capabilities, while providing a platform to tackle policy and regulatory issues, promote responsible space activities, and strengthen diplomatic ties, Whiting said. “I stand here proud of the progress we have collectively made,” Gen. Whiting concluded. “But knowing there is work still to be done, empowering each nation with training and capabilities.”

The April 28–30 gathering brought together senior military space leaders and representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Senior representatives from Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom also participated, with invited observer countries including Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Guyana. Observer delegations from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Angola, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria were present. Organizers said the conference included 15 nations from the Western Hemisphere along with additional global allies.