United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) will conduct a wargame with international partners that will study counter-piracy operations around the Horn of Africa 11 years into the future, according to service officials.
The event, titled Schriever Wargame 2012 International Game, will take five days to complete and will take place at Nellis AFB, Nev., according to a statement. The event will include partners from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, U.S. Armed Forces combatant commands and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands, amongst others, according to a statement.
“This is the first time we are, in addition to exploring U.S. capabilities, using a scenario that uses a formal construct like NATO alliance to essentially respond to a threat in a certain region of the world.” Brig. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of plans, programs and analyses for Air Force Space Command, said recently during a conference call with reporters.
The objectives of the wargame, according to a statement, are: examine options of how to optimize space efforts from allies in support of a speculative NATO expeditionary operation; identify ways to increase the resilience of space capabilities in a contested environment through expanded international and private sector cooperation; determine operational challenges associated with defense of space capabilities employed in support of counter-piracy; examine operational integration of cyber into defense of the space domain and expand understanding of the operational benefits of broader international participation in combined space operations.
“The first thing we will try to do is understand what it takes to coordinate and integrate concerted action to opposed those piracy operations,” Greaves said. “To do that effectively, it involves timely communication and awareness of the environment and space is a critical enabler of those capabilities.”
The Schriever Wargame series, which focuses on the employment of space and cyber in future conflicts, has been hosted by AFSPC for the last 10 years, and over time, has delved into the space-cyber continuum as it relates to, and impacts, space, according to a NATO statement.