NEW YORK, October 30. /TASS/. The US Space Force is addressing existing challenges to ensure all its systems are battle-ready by 2026, according to Claire Leon, Director of the Space Systems Integration Office (SSIO) for the Space Systems Command.

"It’s really all about being ready for contested space by 2026 and having the people, the processes, the tools, the doctrine, everything in place so that we can operate effectively," Defense News quotes her.

Leon elaborated that the US Space Force aims to optimize its management systems while also enhancing collaboration with the US Missile Defense Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, which are also responsible for outer space defense. However, to achieve this, the service will need to allocate resources accordingly and may have to postpone less urgent projects, she noted.

Earlier, Alexander Stepanov, program director of the Academy of Political Sciences and senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed out that the US has made the militarization of space a key policy, embedding it in its doctrine. He suggested that this could indicate preparations for a potential conflict in space, which Washington might be intending to provoke.