Integration of Operational Battlespace and Forces

One of the most important aspects of the concept of integrated air and space operations as it relates to space is the characterization of the air and space bat – tlespace as a “seamless whole.” This characterization is based on the lack of a dis­tinct boundary separating the atmosphere from space. This characterization, how­ever, holds several conceptual problems based on the nature of the atmosphere and space, physics, and operational and legal considerations. First, satellites and most air-breathing engines cannot readily operate between the altitudes of 20 and 100 kilometers. Aerodynamic heating and atmospheric drag inhibit the former, while the increasingly tenuous atmosphere works against any form of air-breathing pro­pulsion other than the high-hypersonic supersonic combustion ramjet (scram – jet). This “nether region” has been largely left unexploited for military use, except as a region to transit into orbit. Second, the different operating environments of air and space vehicles force them to operate in fundamentally different manners. Aircraft are maneuverable, can group together, and can respond to operational demands relatively quickly. Spacecraft, on the other hand, are less maneuverable than aircraft and can only maneuver occasionally through the expenditure of lim­ited quantities of fuel. Third, aircraft and spacecraft are treated differently by inter­national law. Aircraft do not have unrestricted use of a foreign country’s territorial air space whereas overflying a country in space is legal.27

Chinese analysts do acknowledge that there are important differences between outer space and the atmosphere. But Chinese analysts also assert that the integration of air and space operations will lead to a virtual single bat­tlespace. This is reflected in three activities: operations that utilize the force enhancement aspects of space-enabled operations; the use of space and near­space vehicles that operate in the nether region described above; and space – based platforms that attack terrestrial targets.

The foremost activity that promotes the integration of air and space is the use of space-based force enhancement technologies that act as a force mul­tiplier for air force and other service operations.28 Space forces provide recon­naissance, communications, and navigation and positioning capabilities that cannot normally be achieved through other means. These capabilities provide and transmit information to increase the precision of strikes and facilitate long – range strikes. For example, reconnaissance satellites provide high-resolution, global, real time intelligence over a vast area without consideration of national borders; communication satellites provide global communications; and global navigation satellites can provide three-dimensional positioning data for navi­gation and for guiding long-distance precision strike weapons.29

The ultimate goal of the PLAAF’s use of space is to build a network-cen­tric force in which disparate forces divided by function and distance will be fused into an organic whole through the use of information technologies. Net­worked capabilities will allow the air force to carry out four activities: infor­mation, air, and space superiority; precision strike; rapid maneuver; and mul­tidimensional support. These capabilities are intended to achieve information superiority across all domains. In fact, the level of network capabilities is said to define the level of modernization of air forces.30

The capabilities derived from a space-enabled, networked air and space force will also better integrate disparate services into a joint force, an essential prerequisite for winning informatized wars. Jointness is realized in two ways. First, space-enabled air operations allow the air force to provide better opera­tional support to other services, for example, through precision strikes. Sec­ond, the C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] capabilities provided by satellites will allow all services to share a common battlefield picture and to better communicate with each other.31 Through the use of these capabilities, practitioners of air and space integrated operations will be able to achieve synergies in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts.32

Technologies that transit through or operate in the nether world of near space between the altitudes of 20 and 100 kilometers, where neither conven­tional aircraft nor spacecraft can operate, likewise facilitate the integration of air and space. These technologies include high-flying balloons and airships, inhabited aircraft such as the venerable Lockheed U-2, and uninhabited, remotely piloted systems such as the Northrop-Grumman Global Hawk that provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capa­bilities at altitudes between 20,000 and 25,000 meters (approximately 65,000 to over 80,000 feet). While the U-2 or Global Hawk may be able to stay above a target for hours or days, high flying balloons can remain aloft for months, although station-keeping of lightly loaded craft in the midst of high-altitude winds poses a significant challenge. These technologies blur the line between the atmosphere and outer space and will result in near space becoming as much of a battlespace as the lower atmosphere is today.

Another technology which blurs the distinction between the air and space mediums is transatmospheric space planes. Space planes, such as the pro­posed U. S. Falcon hypersonic near-space vehicle, are launched into the atmo­sphere and then accelerate to hypersonic speeds (speeds in excess of five times that of sound, Mach 5+) climbing to and cruising at altitudes ranging from 20 to over 100 kilometers (from over 12 to over 60 miles). Space planes include low-hypersonic Mach 5-8 remotely piloted aircraft, missile-launched hyper­sonic penetration systems operating at near-orbital (Mach 25) velocities, and even, well into the future, piloted global-ranging vehicles operating across this velocity range. Chinese analysts believe space planes will ultimately be impor­tant platforms for achieving air and space superiority33 due to their ability to conduct operations in less time and at less cost than spacecraft, aircraft, or even cruise missiles.34 Chinese writers often refer to space planes’ global reach and information-sharing and precision strike capabilities35 as both something China must possess and something which presents a great threat. According to one author, space planes will become “the most serious military blackmailing China has encountered since the invention of the atomic bomb.”36

A third, though less discussed, aspect of integrated air and space opera­tions will be the ability of space-based platforms to strike ground, air, and sea targets.37 This includes the use of orbital bombs, so-called “rods from God,” and directed energy (DE) weapons such as lasers and microwaves.