“The United States remains the world’s foremost military space power… we will secure the enduring advantage needed to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary seeking to wage war in space, safeguarding the Homeland and protecting the Joint Force and our allies and partners.” – Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, U.S. Space Command
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — U.S. Space Command published
The Space Warfighting Environment 2040 as a foundation for sustaining space superiority and enhancing Joint Force readiness and lethality as the operational domain continues to rapidly evolve and our competitors mobilize with intention.
SWE 2040 complements the U.S. Space Force’s
Future Operating Environment 2040 and
Objective Force 2040 by defining the environment and the warfighter-centered operational framework for the broader Joint Force.
By 2040, space will be more crowded, contested, and central to military operations, a reality that carries both risks and opportunities. The document anticipates several factors that will define warfighting by 2040 and beyond, including the vulnerability of fixed terrestrial space-enabling infrastructure; proliferated dual-use spacecraft that absorb and regenerate under attack; in-space servicing and maneuver that turn orbit into a dynamic network; and quantum developments that reshape trust, timing, and secure communication. The opportunities emerging across the space domain, the publication says, require more than awareness; they demand a framework that converts opportunity into advantage.
To succeed in 2040, the Joint Force must train for contested space as the baseline, not the exception, and build architectures that are resilient and can regenerate under pressure. Embracing maneuver warfare, the document states, will be a critical requirement to ensure capabilities can be repositioned and recovered, and effects can be sustained under persistent attack.
"As we look to 2040 and beyond, our charge is clear—understand this operating environment, protect it, and ensure U.S., allied, and partnered warfighters continue to fight and win, anywhere, anytime, always with space."
SWE 2040 was shaped through collaboration and dialogue led by the command’s Joint Force Development and Training, in partnership with the military services, combatant commands, and various defense agencies.
Read the full SWE 2040 framework here: The Space Warfighting Environment 2040