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PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Air
Force Space Command's Schriever Wargame recently concluded at
Schriever AFB, Colorado. Set in the year 2026, this wargame,
named in honor of retired Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, explored
critical space and cyberspace issues in depth and investigated the
military utility of emerging space systems and cyberspace
capabilities.
The objectives of the wargame included: 1) Explore and assess the
resilience of a future architecture in a contested, degraded, and
operationally limited environment, 2) Identify processes; concepts
of operations (CONOPS); and opportunities for tactics, techniques,
and procedures (TTPs) development within a future architecture to
improve defense and mutual support of all elements of National
Security Space, and 3) Examine how future anti-access and area
denial (A2/AD) force structures will affect requirements for Air
Force space operations and services.
Although the details of the scenario remain classified, the game
stressed space and cyberspace planning and deterrence in the
context of a future regional conflict. This wargame built on the
challenges associated with U.S. and allied space systems featured
during previous wargame iterations. In addition, this year's game
highlighted the resilience of a future space architecture that
incorporated characteristics of increased flexibility,
maneuverability, and situational awareness, as well as the crucial
role that U.S. allies and the commercial sector play in space and
cyberspace capabilities.
"As a wargame, Schriever 2014 looked at future battle management
and command and control systems to provide the commander of U.S.
space forces with a warfighting capability," said Lt. Gen. Jay
Raymond, the Commander of Joint Functional Component Command for
Space and 14th Air Force. "Key take-aways from the game include
the importance of multi-domain awareness and integration, the
warfighting value of our allies, and the operational contributions
of commercial space."
The wargame highlighted the possibility to increase resilience
through changes in space architectures, innovative tactics,
effective command and control, and shared responsibilities across
commercial and allied partners. As the wargame unfolded, a
regional crisis quickly escalated, partly because of the
interconnectedness of a multi-domain fight involving a capable
adversary. The wargame participants emphasized the challenges in
containing horizontal escalation once space control capabilities
are employed to achieve limited national objectives.
Approximately 175 military and civilian experts from government
agencies around the U.S, as well as Australia, Canada, and the
United Kingdom participated in the wargame. Agencies included:
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Strategic Command, Headquarters
Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Pacific Air Forces, Air Combat
Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Office of the
Chief of Naval Operations, Naval Research Laboratory, Naval War
College, the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA, and the
intelligence community. Various commercial entities including
Intelsat, Inmarsat, DigitalGlobe, Astrium and SSL Federal
participated as well to facilitate the wargame.
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