Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

“I’m extremely proud of the Space Force and all the good it has accomplished. But, as good as we are, as much as we’ve done, as far as we’ve come, it’s not enough. We are not yet optimized for Great Power Competition.”

~ Chief of Space Operations
Gen. Chance Saltzman

The establishment of the U.S. Space Force was a direct response to threats arising from Great Power Competition in the space domain. Nevertheless, our legacy roots leave us sub-optimized for the security environment confronting us today, and we must finish fine-tuning the service to continue meeting its National Defense Strategy responsibilities

In early 2024, the Department of the Air Force unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in their respective domains while better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition. Through a series of 24 DAF-wide key decisions, four core areas which demand the Department’s attention will be addressed: Develop People, Generate Readiness, Project Power and Develop Capabilities.

The space domain is no longer benign; it has rapidly become congested and contested.

We must enhance our capabilities, develop Guardians for modern warfare, prepare for the high intensity fight, and strengthen our power projection to thrive and win in this new era of Great Power Competition.

Video by James Hancock

NSWC Corona Hosts NATO SeaSparrow Working Group

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

March 15, 2023 | 1:56

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division hosted the 68th North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) SeaSparrow Project Performance Assessment Working Group meeting March 7-9 in Norco, California. The working group, hosted by the NSWC Corona Performance Assessment Department, met to evaluate telemetry data, performance and reliability for Nato SeaSparrow and Evolved SeaSparrow missiles. The NATO SeaSparrow Project includes a consortium of 12 nations including the United States, providing allied and partner navies with an effective self-defense capability against modern threats. Since its inception in 1968, the NATO SeaSparrow Project has had one pursuit – perfecting anti-ship missile defense capabilities through continued technology improvement. The NSWC Corona Performance Assessment Department serves as the independent analysis and assessment agent across several warfare areas including Air Defense, Integrated Air and Missile Defense, Surface, Strike, and, Cyber. The department's expertise is utilized across unit level, multi-ship, and strike group compositions and has developed key information system capabilities to perform combat system and missile telemetry data management, on-site data analysis, and off-board worldwide data transfer across brown, green, and blue water environments.