PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. –
Lt. Gen. Thomas James, U.S. Space Command deputy commander, attended the Prague Security Studies Institute’s 8th Prague Space Security Conference in the Czech Republic, June 15-17, 2025.
While at the conference, James participated in the “Annual Update on Military Partnerships” panel alongside Brig. Gen. Marcin Górka, Poland’s director of the Innovation Department, Ministry of National Defense, and Maj. Gen. Michael Traut, commander of German Space Command.
To frame the discussion on capabilities and integration with partners, James highlighted USSPACECOM commander Gen. Stephen Whiting’s three moral responsibilities: defend the Nation and the joint force from space-enabled attack by others; deliver space capabilities to the joint force, the Nation, and our allies across all levels of competition and conflict; and protect and defend the space systems critical to the joint force and our modern way of life against the threats now arrayed against us.
To illustrate the importance of assured space access, he shared a personal story from his time as a helicopter pilot during Desert Storm.
“That was my first experience with space-based [capabilities], in a way that had a tremendous impact on the way that we fought that very short war. But part of the time, when I had that [GPS] capability, I felt safer. I had terrain that was trying to kill us, we had an enemy that was trying to kill us, and I had something that was giving me a way out that could help me, and my teammates, fight and be effective and safe. And then it disappeared, and I learned what it meant to protect and defend our access to capability,” he said.
James emphasized that space is foundational to how the U.S. and its allies fight across joint, allied, and interagency operations. As adversaries develop the ability to deny or disrupt access to these systems, he stressed the need to stay ahead of the threat.
“The biggest thing we have to deter China, I think, is our partnerships right now,” he said.
He cited the command’s “Elements of Victory” framework, highlighting the importance of integrating and synchronizing effects with allies, commercial industry, and academia. These partnerships, he said, must be built and exercised before conflict arises.
“I think we’re making some good headway... but integration needs to be done ahead of time. You can’t wait until conflict — and we see that all the time,” he said.
Achieving space superiority, he argued, means more than outpacing adversaries, it requires ensuring freedom of maneuver for allies while denying the same to others.
“We continue to work with the idea that we can control the timing and tempo that the allies and the joint force need to maneuver in space... and prevent an adversary from doing the same to their advantage,” he said.
Efforts like Multinational Force – Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER reflect this shift from dialogue to real operational planning and execution. James concluded by underscoring the strategic value of comprehensive partnerships across sectors.
“I think that with our allies, with industry, with that commercial, with the economic portion of it — how we bring that to bear and fight… comprehensively — is the way we’re going to stay ahead of our adversaries. And shy of doing that well and aggressively... we need strategic partnerships that immediately show productive results.”
The Prague Space Security Conference series, launched in 2011, and has become a leading high-level trilateral space security gathering. Eight international conferences have convened to date, involving leading space policymakers, senior military and civil government officials, industry leaders, and distinguished non-governmental organizations and academia representatives, from Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
USSPACECOM, working with allies and partners, executes, and integrates military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression, defend national interests, and when necessary, defeat threats.