Saltzman details focus on speed, accepting risk, long-term force design

Published Feb. 24, 2026
By Staff Sgt. Emmeline James
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

AURORA, Colo. (AFNS) -- Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said, Feb. 23, the U.S. Space Force must accelerate how it builds and fields combat capability to maintain advantage in an increasingly contested space domain.

“We no longer have the luxury of pursuing perfection,” Saltzman said during his keynote address at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium 2026. “A system that’s good enough and delivered sooner provides real combat capability.”

Saltzman said speed is now a strategic requirement, not simply an efficiency goal. As technological advances compress decision timelines and reshape the character of warfare, the Space Force must align development timelines with operational demands.

Rather than relying on compliance-driven requirements and sequential testing models built for a more permissive environment, the service is defining mission outcomes, implementing integrated testing and enabling incremental upgrades to field systems faster.

The goal is to deliver operational capability sooner and improve it through continued evaluation and operational learning.

The remarks follow a year of structural and operational developments.

Over the past 12 months, the Space Force activated Space Forces Southern and Space Forces Northern, completing service component alignment to each geographic combatant command. Combat Forces Command continued to generate ready combat units for the joint force, and Guardians supported large-scale global exercises alongside allies and partners.

The service also expanded professional development programs. It launched a new Officer Training Course, established an Acquisition Initial Qualification Training Course, implemented a Captains’ Leadership Course, tailored basic military training for enlisted Guardians and expanded professional opportunities for civilian personnel.

Gen Saltzman delivers a keynote at a podium — Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman delivers a keynote address at the Air and Space Force Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo., Feb. 23, 2026. The symposium is an opportunity for Department of the Air Force senior leaders to meet and address Airmen, Guardians, allies, partners and industry leaders. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Malia Heemsoth)

In acquisition, the Space Force is establishing Portfolio Acquisition Executives to oversee risk and resources across portfolios, adopting integrated testing approaches and finding creative ways to deploy capabilities ahead of schedule.

“We aren’t just talking about theories or plans anymore,” Saltzman said. “We’re talking about real, operational, combat space effects.”

Saltzman said the service expects the space domain to grow more congested and competitive as advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems reshape the future operating environment.

In that context, he said failing to adapt presents greater risk than change.

“There may be some risk in change,” Saltzman said, “but it pales in comparison to the risk of accepting the status quo.”

Processes designed to reduce risk in the past must evolve to remain effective, he noted. For a lean force, sustained adaptation is necessary to maintain advantage.

He said the changes underway represent structural adjustments in how the service prepares for sustained competition. As the operating environment becomes more dynamic and technologically complex, the Space Force must design a force built for long-term resilience and operational relevance.

To provide long-term direction, Saltzman highlighted development of the “Objective Force,” a 15-year roadmap defining the systems, units, personnel and infrastructure required to achieve space superiority by 2040.

The Objective Force integrates intelligence assessments, technology trends and operational requirements to identify what the service must build, in what quantities and on what timelines. It is intended to guide capability development, inform recruiting and training and align future investments.

“The Objective Force is our vision of how the Space Force must evolve over the next 15 years to achieve mission success,” Saltzman said. “It defines what we need and how much we need to win.”

He described the Objective Force as a framework updated annually and republished every five years to remain aligned with changes in the operating environment.

As the Space Force continues its seventh year, the service will continue adjusting how it generates forces and fields capability to meet a rapidly evolving threat environment. Sustained adaptation remains central to maintaining U.S. advantages in space.