US Air Force,
Keystone CO: Air Force Space Command's top functional leaders and space experts turned out in full force to support the 2006 Space Warfare Symposium here June 27 through 29.
Air Force Association Lance P. Sijan Chapter No. 125 hosted 240 of the nation's military and corporate industry space leaders and operators for the event, which focused panels and breakout discussions on the event theme of “Integrated Space Combat Effects – To the Battlefield and Beyond.”
“We hope that we've provided a thought-provoking picture of space and the joint warfighter at an operational and strategic level,” said Mr. Brian Binn, president of the AFA's Sijan chapter. “Space will continue to play an ever-increasing role as an instrument of our national defense and Colorado Springs will continue to be what we consider the center of gravity for space operations.”
In his opening remarks, Maj. Gen. Thomas Taverny, mobilization assistant to the AFSPC commander, cited innovations such as the Joint Space Operations Center at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., and its daily role in the Global War on Terrorism and the successes of precision target engagement via satellite navigation using Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits.
The general said JDAMs allow B-52s to attack targets from 12 to 20 miles away without risking harm to aircrews. The weapon's accuracy is honed from 300-meters using conventional bombs, to three meters using the Global Positioning System satellite constellation.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Steve White, from U.S. Northern Command, knows about the benefit of JDAM accuracy. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL for 10 years and has three tours supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
GPS allows a modified 50-plus-year-old weapons system “unheard of precision” in close-air support applications. “The accuracy is unbelievable,” he said.
Despite the multiple successes space has seen in the global war, Chief White and the other three members of the Frontline Warfighter Panel had some recommended improvements for the space industry representatives on hand.
Satellite image clarity, increased radio bandwidth and streaming video from satellites or unmanned aerial vehicles, were among the various suggestions mentioned by panel members.
Information operations are the key to success in the war, and space technology is key to IO success, said Army Lt. Col. Rick Steiner, 10th Special Forces Group commander.
“Space is like water, electricity and the sunrise – they're so fundamental that they're not really talked about,” the colonel said.
People need to understand and know what is available from an applications standpoint. “(The space) community is going to have to push that knowledge to us,” he said. “You're the repository of this expertise
