Remembering the first ‘space war’: A discussion with Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman

This year marks the 30-year anniversary of Operation Desert Storm. Due to the U.S. military’s successful use of space-based capabilities during the conflict, many experts consider Desert Storm to have been the first “space war.” Many of the space capabilities initially deployed at the time, such as the Global Positioning System, have become vital components to how the United States currently conducts military operations. What were the key lessons of Operation Desert Storm for the national security space? And how have those lessons impacted the U.S. military’s current approach to space operations?

On Friday, March 19, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings hosted Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of Space Operations with the United States Space Force, for a discussion on the role of space during the conflict and how technology has evolved over the last 30 years.

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