Figuring out how to respond to a North Korea that is capable of striking the Unites States will be at the top of Gen. John Hyten’s to-do list if he is confirmed to command US Strategic Command. “It’s hard to tell exactly what they’re going to do,” he told the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. “The unpredictability is the hardest thing to deter. How do you deter somebody or something that is unpredictable? It’s very difficult.” Hyten said North Korea’s missile programs appear to be in the early stages of development, but “it’s a matter of if, not when,” they will be able to reach the United States with nuclear weapons. He said he believes integrated capabilities of space, cyber, and conventional forces will be an essential element of deterrence against North Korea in the future. He also said the military should review the number of missile defense interceptors in place.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
