US Gathers Allies to Boost Space Collaboration for Security, Defense

Two dozen U.S. allies joined the U.S. Space Command’s Global Sentinel collaboration exercise on space-based security and defense held at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, from Feb. 5 to 16. 

The event, which was initiated in 2014 with seven countries in attendance, kicked off in 2024 with 246 participants, including 177 representatives of U.S. allies. The two-week exercise not only grew in size but also complexity, with the participating countries grouped into regional space operations centers assigned to command and control tasks across an increased number of space sensors, the Department of Defense said.

According to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Mitchell, Global Sentinel planner, looking at the numbers alone shows how space collaboration has grown, with the 2024 participants managing 97 sensors to maintain situational awareness compared with 50 sensors used in 2022.

The exercise deployed “real world sensors” and the links it established are not just simulations, Mitchell said. He added that Global Sentinel tackled complex scenarios critical to situational awareness, collaboration and interoperability between the United States and its allies.

The SPACECOM exercise is echoed in the U.S. Space Force’s efforts to expand collaboration with allies in space-related development and acquisition programs to avoid duplications, which also impact interoperability. 

U.S. space alliance initiatives also include the Combined Space Operations Vision 2031, an agreement that the DOD and its counterparts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and the United Kingdom signed in 2022 to ensure responsible use of space and to deter hostile space activities under international law.