Space Delta 10 wargame shapes the Space Force’s future battle management

The U.S. Space Force brought together military planners, operators and subject-matter experts from across the joint force in late June and early July for Chalkydri IV, a weeklong battle management wargame held at The Aerospace Corporation in Colorado Springs. Led by Space Training and Readiness Command’s Space Delta 10 and its 10th Force Development Squadron, the event linked participants from 18 organizations, including the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, to test how the service might command and control space operations in future conflicts.

According to the command, the fourth installment in the multi-year Chalkydri campaign focused on evaluating two courses of action for space battle management. The effort aims to generate data that will help senior Space Force leaders shape the service’s approach to planning, coordinating and executing battle management in support of joint operations.

“For this fourth wargame, we were fortunate to have joint force experts from the Army and Air Force join as players and advisors,” said Col. Shannon DaSilva, former commander of Delta 10. “The lessons and experience they brought alongside the sharp Guardian participants from various Combat Forces Command units leveled up both the quantitative and qualitative outputs we collected to inform future force design.”

Chalkydri began after the chief of space operations in September 2024 directed the development and validation of a Space Force battle management concept. Earlier iterations examined five initial concepts; analysis from those events narrowed the field to two approaches scrutinized this year. By linking diverse operators and analysts in a controlled environment, the series is designed to test ideas across complex operational problems rather than a single scenario, exposing strengths and gaps before concepts move toward operational use.

As the space domain grows more contested, battle management requires commanders to rapidly assess shifting conditions across multiple missions and synchronize forces accordingly. The wargame’s structure is intended to provide decision-quality evidence on how different organizational and doctrinal models perform under stress, informing recommendations for doctrine, organization and force development.

Data collected during Chalkydri IV will feed ongoing analysis by Delta 10, with findings expected to guide how the Space Force refines its frameworks for integrating space operations with the broader joint force.

“We’re in the business of providing decision-quality wargaming data to inform senior leader decisions on how our nation will fight and win wars,” Lt. Col. Amber Dawson, 10th FDS commander, said. “Chalkydri IV puts that skillset to the task of examining alternative concepts for space battle management.”

Command officials described the event as another step toward an adaptable, analytically grounded battle management framework tailored to the demands of future conflict in space.