Potomac Officers Club (POC) hosted its Space Intelligence Forum on Tuesday to bring together renowned leaders from across industry and the federal landscape to discuss the advancement of space-based capabilities and intelligence.
Brig. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, director of Intelligence for the U.S. Space Command, served as the keynote speaker during the Forum to provide an overview of our nation’s space technology development and broke down the latest news and initiatives regarding the effectiveness of data gathering as well as the development of critical modeling and simulation technologies.
Check out the Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page to view on-demand the Space Intelligence Forum if you missed it on Tuesday, Aug. 10th.
Following an introduction by the Forum’s moderator Ronald Huntley, vice president for the National Security Space – Growth for Peraton, BG Gagnon began his keynote address with a direct comparison to the space capabilities of the top three nations in the world.
While U.S. adversaries, more specifically China and Russia, are expanding their capabilities and threatening our nation’s space dominance, Gagnon assured the audience that the U.S. remains the best operator in the world today.
He made it clear that despite our self-criticism and awareness of the challenges in space tech and development in the years ahead, the U.S. is still the best at connecting from space throughout our combat force. However, Gagnon recognized the challenges that our adversaries are presenting.
“Great organizations don’t stay great by resting on tier laurels,” he explained. But China, for example, is working to exceed the U.S. in space capabilities to gain the military, economic and prestige benefits that Washington and the American public have already accrued over decades.”
BG Gagnon emphasized the importance of understanding that the U.S. is ahead of the game and has been for the longest time, but that could change if we don’t continue to adapt and expand our space capabilities. He explained that space isn’t a sanctuary to hide and space systems are strong potential targets in all levels of future conflict.
For the rest of his keynote address Gagnon stressed that many people consider space expansion and the weaponization of space technology to be a negative outcome but his goal during the 2021 Space Intelligence Forum was to provide a true narrative of how we got here today and where we’re going in the future.
Visit the Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page to hear the full keynote address from Brig. Gen. Gregory Gagnon as well as a full panel discussion featuring Fred Taylor of Viasat, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick and Col. R. Greg Brown of the U.S. Space Command, John Hoffman of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and James Chappelear of Jacobs.
On Aug. 31st, Potomac Officers Club will host its Building the Future Battle: The Keys to JADC2 featuring Preston Dunlap, chief architect of the Department of the Air and Space Force as the keynote speaker to explore the fundamental solutions needed for implementation of crucial areas such as the tactical edge, a common data fabric and establishing decision advantage.
Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to register for its Building the Future Battle: The Keys to JADC2 on Aug. 31st and learn more about the challenges that JADC2 leaders are addressing to build the digital infrastructure for the future battle and national security protection.
Thank you for your continued support of the Potomac Officers Club and we hope to see you at the Building the Future Battle: The Keys to JADC2 on Aug. 31st.
