We Need Tactical Controllers – Now – To Coordinate Strikes From Space

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – “Danger close” space attacks. To coordinate strikes from space, U.S. needs space JTACs. Close air support of ground forces requires specialists on the ground to coordinate with the pilots. Hence, forward air controllers (FACs) and now Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs).

But if you need JTACs to call in airstrikes, with space-based weapons becoming reality, don’t you then need Space Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (SJTACs)?

Space JTACs would connect special operations units on the ground with space assets for targeting adversary airbases, critical infrastructure, and more complex targets, “such as Russian floating nuclear power plants,” wrote a retired U.S. Army colonel and a Norwegian Army officer, in Irregular Warfare.

Unlike space personnel already assigned to theater special operations commands, SJTACs would embed with special ops units.

They would “enable the assessment of vulnerabilities, ensuring precision in any potential attack, as well as monitoring target activities, tracking movements, and providing real-time situational awareness for preemptive strikes or future sabotage missions,” the authors wrote.

SJTACs are needed to coordinate the advent of space-based weapons that paint a future where orbital bombardment of ground targets is the norm.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

The return of the global energy weapon. Throughout much of the modern era, limiting or disrupting the flow of energy was a highly effective tool of global power.

The increasing use of drone warfare in global conflicts, as seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, presents a new imperative for military forces to quickly identify and intercept hostile unmanned weapon systems.

Army’s Chief Technology Officer talks about what countering improvised explosive devices taught him about defeating drones, what the Army is learning from the southern border about emerging threats, and what he wants to see from industry.

DEFENSE POLITICS

VP JD Vance believes U.S. military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not specify how the administration will reconfigure funding amid the shutdown.

Pentagon removed key protections for defense civilian workers and directed that managers move with “speed and conviction” to fire employees with “unacceptable” performance reviews last month.

Two senators raised concerns about a new Pentagon policy that could bar defense personnel and military commanders from communicating with lawmakers without prior approval.

Trump administration’s nominee to serve as assistant secretary of defense for space policy, told lawmakers he would consider “all options” for improving the efficiency of the national security space enterprise, including consolidating Space Force and NRO.

US POWER OVERSEAS

U.S. military carried out three strikes in the waters of the Eastern Pacific against narco drug boats, killing 14 and leaving one survivor.

Russian transport aircraft of a type linked to the country’s military and former Wagner mercenary group has landed in the Venezuelan capital over the weekend, signaling heightened Russian interest in the Latin American country.

President Trump and Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi forged new U.S.-Japan pact on weapons sales, defense and critical minerals in the Japanese capital.

U.S. defense contractors Kratos and Lockheed Martin have established strategic partnerships with South Korean aerospace companies, focusing on manned-unmanned teaming technologies and maintenance capabilities.

3rd Infantry Division took command this week of U.S. Army operations in the Black Sea region on NATO’s eastern flank with a task force of soldiers deployed to Romania for nine months.

Navy evacuates nearly 900 from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as Hurricane Melissa approaches.

Hegseth addressed sailors aboard U.S. carrier in Japan ahead of Trump speech, where POTUS spoke for nearly an hour on a range of topics, from drug cartels in the Caribbean to the cost of groceries in the U.S.

CHINA THREAT

New Chinese advanced training jet breaks cover. This, after a string of exotic stealthy combat jets, both crewed and uncrewed being publicly revealed.

Philippine Marines deployed two small boats last week to seize and escort a Chinese fishing boat that was illegally fishing at Second Thomas Shoal.

RUSSIA THREAT

After a Ukrainian strike on a Russian dam designed to impede Russian logistics, videos and photographs are emerging showing flooded dugouts and vehicles stuck in the mud in the northern Kharkiv region.

Germany is ramping up its role in NATO maritime surveillance, with plans to deploy one of its new P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft to Scotland in the coming months as part of expanded joint operations with the UK.

Is Europe too soft to fight? Europe’s populations are readier to fight than they are often credited. The problem isn’t their lack of will, but elite pessimism about it.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

Israel is digging in. The temporary dividing line (“yellow line”) with Hama in Gaza is becoming more permanent with earthworks and plans for civilian infrastructure.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

France introduced a modernized version of its M51 submarine-launched strategic ballistic missile, a “major milestone” in the modernization of the country’s ocean-based nuclear deterrent.

German military has received a demonstrator for a high-energy laser weapon developed by Rheinmetall and MBDA, marking a milestone toward fielding an operational directed-energy system for naval use by 2029.

Airbus Defense and Space has signed a memorandum of understanding with Portuguese manufacturers to develop a Eurofighter for the country’s F-16 fighter replacement program.

Slingshot Aerospace is in talks with other countries to create or expand space-tracking capabilities after selling optical sensors to the UK.

Ukraine war’s global reach. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war has had ripple effects around the world.

Kenya’s navy seizes meth in Indian Ocean. Authorities have charged six Iranians arrested in the high seas for trafficking a massive consignment of methamphetamines worth $63 million.

US MILITARY

Navy memo released this month details military personnel’s responsibilities when posting on social media.

Air Force Reserve crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Hurricane Hunters,” flew through Hurricane Melissa but forced back to base by Melissa’s fury.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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