Space Command chief urges new weapons, refuelable satellites to match China

At the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, Gen. Stephen Whiting delivered his final remarks as commander of U.S. Space Command, stressing the urgency of matching China’s rapid advances in space warfare. He cited Chinese direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, ground-based lasers, jammers and massive low-Earth-orbit constellations as threats to U.S. assets. To counter this, Whiting presented five integrated priorities for the 2029-2033 period: kinetic and non-kinetic space fires, technologies to neutralize proliferated LEO satellites, a unified command-and-control framework, comprehensive space-domain awareness, and the development of refuelable, maneuverable satellites.

He argued that without these, U.S. forces would face a scarcity mindset that limits operational flexibility. The commander framed these needs as a demand signal to both military and industry partners, insisting that space must “shoot, move, and communicate” like the other domains of the Joint Force.