In just five years after its creation, the Air Force had already proven the decisiveness of air dominance by demonstrating its critical role in winning the Korean War. From that moment began its now official motto: Fly, Fight, Win. Every airman and military strategist since, regardless of service branch, fully understands the indispensable need for air dominance to secure victory on land. And with it, the undeniable necessity of speed to ensure that dominance.
As the Space Force approaches its fifth anniversary, the defining purpose that captures what it uniquely delivers to the fight remains frustratingly elusive. This certainly is not due to a lack of effort or passion. Guardians have made considerable progress in defining the new service. From new uniforms, to revamped organizations, to reshaping operational strategies that reflect the vital nature of space capabilities for national and economic security, the Space Force has made several important steps forward. But at the same time, many are concerned its initial momentum might be waning.
Speed, or the ability to outmaneuver, outpace, and outsmart our adversaries, is that purpose, the one word that should therefore define the Space Force’s every action. For Guardians, the urgency of their mission cannot be overstated: speed is not a lofty ideal, it is essential for survival. Space is now the epicenter of all modern warfare, and the Space Force has a clear mandate: to safeguard America’s interests in, through, and from it. Achieving this mission of infinite range demands unparalleled focus and unmatched flexibility. To ensure all warfighters, whether in space or everyone else dependent on space-based platforms, to think and act faster than anyone else is existential.
As the pace of modern conflict accelerates and the battlefield evolves with it, so too has the threat environment. Rising threats from China, Russia, and other nations investing heavily in their own space capabilities are a stark reminder that speed is critical. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) recently updated its Olympic medal rankings of the world’s best commercial remote sensing systems. The reality is grim: we are losing ground due to our snail-paced privatization of currently government designed and directed space systems and acquisition regulations that discourage rather than reward innovation. In contrast, competitors like China have surged ahead from even just three years ago, and we have not and cannot seem to keep up.
Our adversaries are also rapidly advancing their offensive capabilities in space, uninhibited by the inertia of these bureaucratic processes and endless Pentagon churn. Meanwhile, American space and technology hubs across the country are surging forward in AI and cloud computing, fascinated by the unbounded limits of space and their potential to explore and exploit it. They are building the tools for this new domain of warfare—raw computing power, edge computing, and continuous enhancement—and are advancing at an incredible pace. Modern warfare’s implements have changed; no longer is it about missiles and bullets—it’s about algorithms, data, and computing power. The ability to out-develop, out-deploy, and outmaneuver in space will determine whether we as a nation stay on top or become the empire that was.
To maintain its inherited competitive advantage, the Space Force must align its pace and mindset with those of the private sector, leveraging innovations wherever possible. The timeline for delivering satellites into orbit must be reduced from SDA’s eye-watering two years to six months. Firefly’s record breaking Victus Nox demonstration of launching a satellite one year after contract award was eye-watering as well, but still not fast enough. Today’s Space Force must challenge these commercial pacesetters even further, demanding rapid reconstitution in less than a month for the on orbit threats we are now facing. Additionally, addressing current undeterrable hypersonic weapon threats posed by Russia and China requires coalition space forces to detect and intercept these weapons effectively. Finally, all warfighting task forces on the ground, including tactical level units must be equipped with secure communications to ensure intelligence access for global vigilance, a capability only achievable by space assets.
In today’s contested space domain, any country’s space prowess will be defined more by its software and networks than hardware, which makes capability deployment speed a matter of survival in everything it does. The Space Force’s future depends on its ability to adapt—to embrace a culture centered around speed, where every Guardian operates with the urgency their mission demands. From the mundane contract actions that too often lie in wait for months, sometimes years, to the reconceiving of software defined satellite architectures that move data faster for decisionmakers and warfighters, speed is imperative. Bureaucratic introspection is no longer just counterproductive—it is a threat to our national security.
Speed must be more than just another principle of war taught and quickly discarded during basic training—it must become every Guardian’s first instinct, defining how they see themselves and their service in the fight, much like a Marine’s deepest desire is to “close with the enemy.” For the newest branch of the military to fulfill its purpose, it must demand an ethos of speed, flexibility, and relentless adaptation.
Many of today’s Space Force leaders began their careers as Air Force Officers, managing critical components of the nuclear triad. They are no strangers to high-stakes decisions and the pressure of rapid execution. Now, they must lead a new triad on orbit: computers, software, and data, and instill that same instinctive urgency across the service.
In this new era of fierce space competition, the US Space Force will be defined by its ability to adapt to and embrace a culture where speed is paramount. If we cannot adopt the quick pace of the tech sector, we will never be able to leverage their strengths in a meaningful way and risk forfeiting our strategic edge. America’s dominance in space, and its security at home, depend on it.
