The Final Frontier Goes to War: The Militarisation of Space

Space is becoming an increasingly contested domain as major powers expand military capabilities, satellite infrastructure, and counterspace systems, while the U.S. Golden Dome initiative reshapes strategic stability and raises new questions about the future of space governance.

“the United States must at the same time invest in research to preserve and advance our advantage in cutting-edge military and dual-use technology, with emphasis on the domains where U.S. advantages are strongest. These include undersea, space, and nuclear, as well as others that will decide the future of military power, such as AI, quantum computing, and autonomous systems, plus the energy necessary to fuel these domains.”

“the United States must at the same time invest in research to preserve and advance our advantage in cutting-edge military and dual-use technology, with emphasis on the domains where U.S. advantages are strongest. These include undersea, space, and nuclear, as well as others that will decide the future of military power, such as AI, quantum computing, and autonomous systems, plus the energy necessary to fuel these domains.”

In December 2025, the White House issued an executive order on “Ensuring American Space Superiority” to ensure U.S. space superiority, security, lunar development, and the ability to detect, characterise and counter threats to U.S. space interests – especially threats from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO).

In recent years, outer space has undergone a remarkable transformation from being a domain of scientific discoveries to an arena of geopolitical competition. According to NATO, space is important for both the military and civilians. In 2019, NATO officially recognised space as an operational domain and adopted an Overarching Space Policy. NATO has taken various initiatives under this policy, such as the NATO Space Operations Centre (NSpOC), NATO Commercial Space Strategy, and SPACENET.

NATO has declared that space is critical to deterrence and defence. Major powers are very keen on the development of space technologies in defence and deterrence.........

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