US Space Command Nominee: Future Battles Likely Fought Partially in Space

Any future conflicts with major global powers will be partially fought in space, America’s new space command nominee said Tuesday.

In remarks before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing to consider his nomination to lead the U.S. Space Command, Gen. Jay Raymond said “we no longer have the luxury of operating in a peaceful, benign domain,” Stars and Stripes reported.

“And we no longer have the luxury of treating space superiority as a given,” he said.

If the United States doesn’t react quickly to advancing Chinese and Russian space capabilities, they’ll surpass American capabilities, he warned.

“It’s really important that we make some changes to stay ahead of that growing threat,” he said, the military news outlet reported. “I am comfortable today. I am comfortable we are the best in the world [at space operations]. But we need to move fast, and with your support we are going to get there.”

Raymond, a 35-year veteran in the Air Force working in space operations, now heads the organization responsible for training and equipping the Air Force’s roughly 15,000 space operators while also leading space forces assigned to U.S. Strategic Command.

Pentagon officials have said once Raymond is confirmed, the Defense Department will begin establishing U.S. Space Command as its 11th unified combatant command, the military news outlet reported.

• Report: Space Command Won't be Based in Fla.
• Pentagon Working on Satellites That Can Dodge Attacks