Adversaries are developing increasingly sophisticated networks in space that enable not just kill chains but kill webs, which are “extremely difficult to defeat,” according to the Space Force’s No. 2 officer.
“A kill chain in its simplest form is a gun fires a bullet, and a bullet hits a target,” Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein said at the Defense News Conference on Sept 4. By comparison, kill webs are much more complex networks of sensors, communication systems, and weapons working together across domains to strike multiple targets simultaneously.
“Unfortunately, the adversary is capable of using these kill webs to hold our joint forces at risk across great distances, across multiple domains, and with persistence, this is a very sophisticated and challenging threat,” Guetlein said.
The kill web is a relatively new concept—U.S. military officials only started using it in earnest around 2018. Already, however, leaders are warning that adversaries are employing the idea. Back in March, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman warned that China has launched more than 470 ISR satellites that are “feeding a robust sensor-shooter kill web.”
The sensor-to-shooter kill web speeds up attacks by improving data sharing and automation, enabling strikes in seconds. Guetlein outlined three key Space Force initiatives to counter the threat, including a new technology the service expects to acquire in the coming years.
Moving Target Indications (MTI)
Kill webs have allowed adversaries to push the lines of battle farther from their shores while denying oversight of their territory. “As they’ve done that, we’ve had to go higher and higher to get the same perspective of what’s going on the battlefield,” explained Guetlein. With that, the service is boosting investment in advanced detection and tracking technologies to protect existing capabilities and eliminate the first mover advantage.
“In the future, we plan to see continued investment in areas like Ground Moving Target Indications (GMTI), new investments in Air Moving Target Indications (AMTI), as well as investments in alternative methods to GPS,” said Guetlein. “I would say you’re looking at probably early [2030s] for some of that capability to start coming online, both for GMTI and for AMTI.”
For several years now, the Pentagon has explored the idea of space-based moving target indication, as older Air Force platforms like the E-3 AWACS and E-8 JSTARS are considered unlikely to survive long in a potential conflict with China.
The Space Force’s joint venture for GMTI with the National Reconnaissance Office is gearing up to bring tactical targeting from space into play, using satellites to deliver pinpoint accuracy. In its 2024 budget request, the service outlined plans to spend $243 million on MTI this year, and more than $1.2 billion over the next five years, describing it as “an evolved weapon system.”
“Most of this kit is classified, and a lot of it is focused on defeating the adversaries’ kill webs if necessary,” said Guetlein. While the specifics are under wraps, the approach focuses on enhancing threat detection and protection across all domains, Guetlein added.
Domain Awareness
Situational awareness will also be key to disrupting kill webs, Guetlein said, emphasizing the service’s focus on enhanced capabilities and global partnerships to stay ahead. Programs like the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), dubbed a “neighborhood watch station 22,000 miles away in space,” according to Guetlein, are keeping an eye on movements in orbit.
Meanwhile, projects such as the Deep-Space Advanced Radar Capability through the AUKUS alliance bolster this effort by providing 24/7, all-weather tracking of objects in deep space. Last month, following the first radar installation in Australia, the service awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to build a second radar in the U.K. Once the third and final radar is installed in the U.S. by 2030, it is expected to maximize coverage by sharing data and connecting the three sites.
Resilient SATCOM
The service is also driving to bolster SATCOM capacity, another vital element in gaining the upper hand against kill webs.
“We expect a significant increase in demand in the coming years and during times of crisis or conflict,” said Guetlein.
The Space Development Agency (SDA) is currently at the forefront of this mission, having launched 19 communications and eight missile tracking satellites already as part of its Proliferated Warfare Space Architecture (PWSA).
Last month, the agency awarded contracts for the final 20 satellites in the second tranche of its proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation, paving the way for hundreds more to launch in the coming years. To date, the SDA has now locked in contracts for over 430 satellites across Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of the PWSA, that will deliver secure communications, data transport, and advanced missile warning and tracking capabilities.
“SDA’s next set of 154 satellites are programmed through production and are scheduled to start launching in the upcoming fiscal year,” said Guetlein, stressing that this will make it significantly harder for adversaries to disrupt communications.