US Space Force increases efforts to plug training capabilities gaps

The growing proliferation of in-orbit threats and the difficulty of accessing simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing them have been a concern for the US Space Force (USSF). In its FY2025 budget proposal, the service plans to address capability gaps and improve its training equipment.

Over the next fiscal year, the branch intends to progress with several programmes related to the acquisition, modification and development of equipment and software to provide guardians with immersive, safe and secure instruction environments.

During a recent webinar conducted by the US-based think tank Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, LT Gen. David N. Miller, head of the Space Operations Command, claimed that the branch still required additional improvements in its training inventory as it does not “have the emulation capability or the threat simulation capability across units to allow us to train at the high-fidelity levels that we will need to”.

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“Most of that training [capabilities] will likely be very sensitive, and we would not want to expose that in a live fly arena, so it is going to be virtual,” Miller noted. “That is not stopping us. We are walking through table-top exercises, red academics, planning iterations and charrettes, and we do some exercises already.”

Although it is unclear how much the service will invest to plug capability gaps, resources for simulation solutions will come from diverse procurement and R&D efforts. This is the case of the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals Force Element Terminal (FAB-T FET). The service requested nearly US$235 million to ramp up production activities, procure terminals and fund training solutions.

Meanwhile, the Counter Communications System (CCS) Pre-planned Product Improvement (P3I) programme should receive $4.3 million to provide expeditionary, deployable, reversible offensive space control (OSC) effects applicable across the full spectrum of conflict.

The CCS P3I’s resources for the next fiscal year will support the fielding and integration of mission emulators and training equipment.

“We have to build the fidelity in those emulation, simulation and threat models so that they can integrate across managed missions,” Miller pointed out.

In terms of R&D, nearly $725 million was proposed for the Space Defence Capabilities initiative. It will cover the Tetra project, which has been designed to provide space vehicles and a training platform for their operators.

In addition to acquiring and developing training solutions, the USSF has been also working on improving warfighting scenarios and war games. This approach comprises upgrading infrastructure to provide more guardians with immersive, focused instructions.

Miller highlighted that the current training facilities in the Space Force’s units are small, sensitive and compartmentalised.

“What we have got to do is bring a place where they [guardians] can fly together at the highest classification level in a very controlled environment and get access to both all of the intel level threat, but also all the capabilities we can bring to bear,” Miller added.

Resources to conduct infrastructure upgrades will come from the $4.3 billion fund allocated for construction, procurement and modification of training devices.

The improvements in inventory and facilities form part of a broader USSF effort to better prepare its personnel for operations in multidomain, contested scenarios. The approach also involves developing and updating doctrine and policies.

In this sense, the branch has developed a space-focused course curriculum to cover the entire range of operations within the domain. The tailored process has been intended to provide new personnel with a space-specific, threat-based programme.

The National Space Test and Training Complex (NSTTC) in Colorado, for instance, has been providing environments to test and train several capabilities including the Electromagnetic Warfare​ Range (NSTTC-E), Orbital Warfare Range (NSTTC-O), Cyber Warfare Range​ (NSTTC-C) and Digital Warfare Environment (NSTTC-D).