PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – From Colorado to Australia, spanning the breadth of the Indo-Pacific region, members from U.S. Space Command and its functional and service components supported Exercise Talisman Sabre 21, July 14-31.
Approximately 100 personnel from USSPACECOM, the Combined Force Space Component Command, Space Operations Command and Space and Missile Defense Command, integrated with Australia’s Defence Forces and Space Operations Center to orchestrate distributed command and control of space operations and defensive and offensive space control.
“In modern warfare, multi-domain superiority is the lifeblood of effective combined force operations,” said Maj. Gen. David N. Miller, Jr., USSPACECOM’s director of operations, training and force development. “In Talisman Sabre, we took critical steps to promote interoperability and demonstrate the flexibility, responsiveness and relevance of our space forces in the Indo-Pacific. I couldn’t be more excited for the future as U.S. Space Command cements our enduring relationship with Indo-Pacific Command and our regional partners, to promote security and stability and to ensure our combined/joint forces have the space-enabled combat edge they depend upon, all day, every day.”
This marks the first exercise deployment since the establishment of SpOC and USSPACECOM of a Counter Communications System, which is a transportable space control electronic warfare system that reversibly denies adversary satellite communications.
“Space Electronic Warfare can be of an offensive nature, intended to prevent an adversaries hostile use of space capabilities; or defensive, which focuses on identifying and geo-locating interference with U.S. capabilities, thereby protecting space assets,” said Col. Jean Eisenhut, SpOC’s Electronic Warfare Mission Area Team chief. “In Talisman Sabre, to ensure we are training as we will fight, U.S. and Australian forces built upon the skill sets necessary to cohesively execute space electronic warfare operations to earn and maintain space superiority.”
As part of the exercise, members from the Combined Space Operations Center located at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, deployed to Australia to train their counterparts on the coordination of space control effects.
“Talisman Sabre has been a great opportunity to observe U.S. space control electronic warfare systems in operation and gain a deeper understanding of these capabilities,” said Brig. Warren Gould, the sponsor of Australia’s space electronic warfare project. “This will inform our own space electronic warfare exploratory activities. Activities such as Talisman Sabre enable Australia and the U.S. to discover crucial opportunities for collaboration within the framework of the Combined Space Operations Initiative.”
As the United States’ newest combatant command, USSPACECOM will continue to integrate with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and our allies and partners to demonstrate our commitment to peace and security throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Exercises like Talisman Sabre provide effective and intense training to ensure our forces are capable, interoperable, deployable on short notice and combat-ready.
Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 is a large-scale, bilateral military exercise conducted biennially across Northern Australia designed to enhance the U.S.-Australia alliance which is an anchor of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Exercises like this provide effective and intense training to ensure the forces are capable, interoperable, responsive and combat-ready.