Frank A. Rose Warns 5 Space Priorities Are Critical as Ukraine, Iran Wars Expose Vulnerabilities
Updated
Updated · SpaceNews · Jul 31
Frank A. Rose Warns 5 Space Priorities Are Critical as Ukraine, Iran Wars Expose Vulnerabilities
2 articles · Updated · SpaceNews · Jul 31
Summary
Five priorities should guide the U.S. and allies, Frank A. Rose argues: harden GPS, seek Galileo PRS access, build reversible counterspace tools, detect nuclear weapons in orbit, and deepen commercial-space coordination.
Ukraine and the 2026 Iran conflict showed why: Starlink preserved Ukrainian command links, while GNSS now underpins drones, long-range strikes and dispersed operations for both Western forces and adversaries.
Those wars also exposed vulnerabilities as jamming and spoofing spread beyond battlefields—disrupting hundreds of commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and creating hazards in the Black Sea.
Commercial imagery has similarly become a double-edged asset; Planet imposed a voluntary 14-day limit on some Persian Gulf imagery, underscoring how little control governments have over unclassified battlefield surveillance.
Rose says proliferated constellations may also push rivals toward more destructive counterspace options, including Russia's reported nuclear anti-satellite effort, making space resilience central to future military advantage.