Space:  Space Operations Were a Key Element in Iraq, U.S. Official Says

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON ð— U.S. space systems played a number of key roles in the conflict against Iraq and will become even more important in future operations, increasing the need for ensuring U.S. control of space, a senior military official said yesterday.

“As we move forward in the 21st century, we’ll have to deal more with … space control, because space has become so important to our conduct in the war fight that there will be lessons that might be learned by our potential adversaries,” said Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano, commander of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Increasing U.S. military control of space, which has become a growing Defense Department priority in recent years, is controversial internationally, with many countries ranging from Russia and China to Canada expressing concern about the prospect of an arms race there and the possibility of jeopardizing civilian spacecraft.

U.S. officials have said there is a possibility that a potential adversary might attack U.S. military space systems and have therefore insisted that such risks must be addressed.

New Roles

Cosumano called space the “fourth dimension” of the battlefield in which U.S. military forces operate, the other three being land, sea and air.

“This new dimension … has become more important to war fighters as we’ve moved into the 21st century,” he said, speaking at an event arranged by the National Defense University Foundation and the National Defense Industrial Association.

Cosumano said satellites generally support military intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications and specifically provide early warning of missile launches as well as “blue force tracking,” by monitoring the position of U.S. and allied forces to give commanders better information and to prevent friendly fire casualties.

In the recent war in Iraq, satellites “played a significant role in reducing the amount of fratricide, and also played a key role in tying up the war fight, because the combatant commander had great situational awareness of where his soldiers were,” he said.

Cosumano also said commercial satellite imagery would play a role in reconstruction efforts in Iraq, by providing detailed topographical maps of the country.

He said growing numbers of military personnel are connected to space operations, citing 43,000 in the Air force, 17,000 in the Navy, and about 1,700 in the Army, including scientists, engineers and 700 uniformed personnel.

Space, Cosumano said, supports U.S. efforts to integrate forces globally, from information and communications operations, to a globally integrated missile defense, to the ability to strike a target globally in “within minutes, hours or days.”

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