The growing anti-satellite (ASAT) missile arsenals of both China and Russia have prompted U.S. Air Force Space Command to develop a new and tougher system for training its military satellite operators.

The system, called the Space Mission Force (SMF), aims to better prepare satellite operators to operate military satellites in a threatened environment and includes tactics to respond to threats. It's based on a white paper prepared by General John Hyten, commander of Air Force Space Command.

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SMF supports the U.S. Air Force's new space strategy aimed at protecting its "freedom of action in space." This necessarily means protecting U.S. military satellites and other orbital facilities used in reconnaissance and surveillance.

SMF will subject the Air Force's aerospace units such as the 21st Space Wing, the 50th Space Wing and the 460th Space Wing to "demanding training ... focused on improving combat capability against ever‐increasing threats and complex scenarios," said Gen. Hyten.

The U.S. "space soldiers" will receive intensive training lasting from four to six months. This will be followed by four to six months where they will put their newly learned skills to the test by having experienced and rookie operators work side-by-side.

Operators from the 50th Space Wing that manages Air Force satellites have begun SMF training. The 21st Space Wing, which is responsible for the Air Force's space situational awareness ground stations and radars, began training in July. The 460th Space Wing, which manages the Air Force's missile warning satellites, will transition to SMF in 2017.

Gen. Hyten said the training and skills that sustained U.S. space operations for the last several decades are not the same skills it needs to fight through threats and win in today's much tougher environment.

"My intent is to transform our culture by implementing the Space Mission Force, a new advanced training and force presentation model that prepares our space forces to meet the challenges of today's space domain, while ensuring we continue to provide vital space capabilities for the Joint Forces now and in the future," he wrote in "Space Mission Force: Developing Space Warfighters for Tomorrow," an eight-page white paper.

"We need to fight through threats to win in today's contested, degraded and operationally-limited environment."

He said securing "our right to use space is simply an extension of an age old principle to guarantee use of global commons" such as space.

"Our space forces must demonstrate their ability to react to a thinking adversary and operate as warfighters in this environment," said Gen. Hyten.

To attack U.S. satellites, China can deploy the Dong Neng-2 (DN-2), Dong Neng-3 (DN-3) and the HongQi-19 (HQ-19) ASATs. All these missiles were developed as ASAT missiles under the guise of anti-ballistic missile systems. 

TagsU.S. Air Force Space Command, anti-satellite missile, General John Hyten, Space Mission Force