The U.S. Space Force has approved the first-ever in-orbit combat exercise, codenamed "VICTUS HAZE," to be conducted by fall 2025. The exercise will involve private space companies demonstrating complex orbital maneuvers and proximity operations to respond to potential threats in space. This marks a significant step in the U.S.'s preparation for space warfare, as it aims to develop strategies to counter adversarial tactics and enable swift responses to emerging threats in space.
The leader of the United States Space Command, General James H. Dickinson, highlighted the importance of megaconstellations like SpaceX's Starlink network in providing resiliency and redundancy in satellite communications during Ukraine's efforts to deter a potential invasion by Russia. Megaconstellations make it difficult for adversaries to take countermeasures and frustrate them by creating uncertainty about the number of satellites that would need to be targeted. Dickinson also emphasized the growing reliance on commercial space companies for various functions, but acknowledged the need to strike a balance between military and commercial services in the space domain.
