WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Aggressor Satellites That Replicate Enemy Ones On Space Force’s Buy List.

Space Force’s Guardians may execute a full-time remote mission from their stations on the ground, but the service’s top officer wants to take more training out of the virtual realm. In part, this would occur by deploying actual aggressor satellites in orbit in a similar manner to how the USAF flies aggressor fighters with specially trained pilots that mimic the enemy’s tactics and capabilities against its flight crews.

In a round table with reporters at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference on Tuesday, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman elaborated on Space Force’s plans to expand its operational test and training infrastructure (OTTI). He believes doing so will enhance Guardians’ experience, bring them closer to the fight, and highlight the realities of competing against an adversary, like China, with their heavy interest in disabling and destroying U.S. space assets.

Two weeks ago, Space Force stood up System Delta 81, a task-oriented unit focused on aligning acquisition efforts with operational test and training. On Tuesday, Saltzman outlined plans to improve the “Guardian experience” in the OTTI space.

How many current advances would be unthinkable without Starship (hopefully) coming into service in the next couple of years?