---
title: "US Space Force Says It’s “Under Threat” and in “Perpetual Competition” With China and Russia"
description: "The space arms race is continuing along, as indicated by recent statements from the US Space Force about its current posturing toward China and Russia."
date: "2023-03-11"
modified: "2023-03-11"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-china-russia-threat"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "Space Force"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "Russia"
  - "space force"
  - "the digest"
---

# US Space Force Says It’s “Under Threat” and in “Perpetual Competition” With China and Russia

![The space arms race is continuing along, as indicated by recent statements from the US Space Force about its current posturing toward China and Russia.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/space-force-china-russia-threat.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Pool via Getty / Futurism\</em\>*

## Let Them Fight

The United States' cold war in space is continuing along swimmingly as indicated by recent statements from the [US Space Force](<https://futurism.com/trump-executive-order-space-command-space-force>) about its current posturing toward China and Russia.

"We’re under threat in the space domain," declared John Shaw, the deputy commander of the US Space Force, during a symposium held earlier this week [as quoted by *SpaceNews*](<https://spacenews.com/u-s-space-force-game-plan-compete-with-china-prevent-shooting-war-in-orbit/>). "If I were on the General Staff of Russia, or if I was serving in the \[China’s People’s Liberation Army\] I would be advising the leadership to go after the space capabilities of the United States."

As warmongering as the whole thing sounds, Shaw did have a point when noting at the event that the American satellites which "project power across the planet" are "not all that well defended."

## Competitive Spirit

During the event, Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's chief of space operations, said that in order to address the threats posed by China and Russia, the US needs to be in "perpetual competition" with those countries and forge allyships to deter them.

After lauding China's "remarkable capabilities" in space, Saltzman admitted that the American "concept for domain control in space cannot rely on overwhelming destructive force."

Somewhat reassuringly, the military official said that winning won't be defined in traditional warfaring terms.

"If you do this right," Saltzman said, "you never fight."

As grandstanding as these officials' commentary sounds, they nevertheless do seem to accurately be portraying the fine line between hard and soft power when it comes to spacefaring and the global competition currently underway between the US, China, and Russia, the latter two of which are undoubtedly also drawing up similar deterrence plans.

"We have to completely rethink how we do our space architectures," Shaw said during his talk at the conference. "We’re probably gonna have to be more nimble."

**More on the space arms race:** [*European Space Agency Halts Plans to Send Astronauts to Chinese Space Station*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/esa-halts-chinese-space-station-plans>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)