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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — U.S. Space Command has published The Space Warfighting Environment 2040, a framework to sustain space superiority and strengthen Joint Force readiness and lethality as the operational domain evolves and competitors mobilize with intention. “The United States remains the world’s foremost military space power… we will secure the enduring advantage needed to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary seeking to wage war in space, safeguarding the Homeland and protecting the Joint Force and our allies and partners,” said Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, U.S. Space Command.
SWE 2040 complements the U.S. Space Force’s Future Operating Environment 2040 and Objective Force 2040 by defining the environment and a warfighter-centered operational framework for the broader Joint Force.
The document forecasts that by 2040 space will be more crowded, contested, and central to military operations. It highlights several factors shaping future warfighting: the vulnerability of fixed terrestrial space-enabling infrastructure; proliferated dual-use spacecraft that can absorb and regenerate under attack; in-space servicing and maneuver that make orbit a dynamic network; and quantum developments that reshape trust, timing, and secure communication. The publication says these opportunities demand a framework that converts opportunity into advantage.
To succeed, it calls for training the Joint Force with contested space as the baseline and building resilient architectures that can regenerate under pressure. Embracing maneuver warfare, the document states, will be critical to reposition and recover capabilities and sustain effects under persistent attack. “As we look to 2040 and beyond, our charge is clear—understand this operating environment, protect it, and ensure U.S., allied, and partnered warfighters continue to fight and win, anywhere, anytime, always with space.”
SWE 2040 was shaped through collaboration led by the command’s Joint Force Development and Training, in partnership with the military services, combatant commands, and various defense agencies.
The framework is available here: http://www.spacecom.mil/Portals/57/FINAL%20USSC%20Space%20Warfighting%20Environment%202040.pdf?ver=cWeGIk4tKis7mEPBRYn2zA%3d%3d
