Iran War Proves Trump Was Right on Space Force

By Andrew Follett

Thursday, March 05, 2026

 

In 20th-century wars, the key was air power. In 21st-century wars, it will be space power. This week’s military actions against Iran in Operation Epic Fury show that if America desires peace on earth, the ongoing conflict proves we must prepare for war in space — and the initial remarkable success the U.S. and coalition forces have demonstrated vindicates President Trump’s decision to elevate the Space Force as the sixth and newest branch of the American military.

 

The U.S. military’s dominance in space, primarily through the U.S. Space Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and associated assets under U.S. Space Command played a pivotal role in the success of the early strikes against Iran, encompassing a network of satellites for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), Global Positioning System (GPS), communications, electronic warfare, and missile-warning systems. At Monday’s Pentagon news conference alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine specifically credited Space Force’s role in offensive and defensive military operations, saying they “continuously layered effects to disrupt, disorient and confuse the enemy” and characterized both as “the first movers” that provided “non-kinetic effects disrupting and degrading and blinding Iran’s ability to see, communicate and respond.”

 

Prior to its 2019 establishment, responsibilities for space combat were widely distributed across different U.S. military branches, leaving America ill-prepared to fight a conflict. Just as the Air Force was rightly separated from the Army in 1947, elevating space to a co-equal service consolidates American expertise and allows our military to better control the high ground above the earth.

 

At the start of the war, Space Command “disrupted, degraded, and blinded” Iran’s sensory, communication, and response capabilities. This effectively rendered Iran “blind” to incoming threats, preventing early detection or coordinated retaliation as electronic-warfare satellites jammed radar systems, interrupted command-and-control networks, and scrambled drone and missile-guidance signals.

 

When Iran attempted to attack an oil tanker to threaten the global economy, the regime appears to have accidentally sunk a vessel sanctioned by the U.S. and affiliated with Iran. For some reason, Iran destroyed one of their own vessels, and the likely reason is that their sensors were blind. In direct contrast, America’s military can literally post high-definition video of Iranian naval vessels being torpedoed.

 

Without America’s reconnaissance satellites, we would effectively be as restricted and uninformed as Iran is today. Without our communications satellites and GPS, we’d be just as lost. These capabilities enabled precise, coordinated, and overwhelming attacks while minimizing Iran’s ability to detect or counter them effectively. This allowed U.S. and Israeli aircraft to form a “single synchronized wave” of attacks in comparative safety. The only U.S. air losses so far have been from friendly fire, a remarkable achievement given the scale of the strikes and a testimony to America’s space dominance. (In fact, these systems were so successful that the military ended up prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages for active-duty U.S. Space Force squadrons, presumably to keep celebrations to a minimum.)

 

America’s force of Low-Cost ‌Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) kamikaze drones, which have absolutely devastated Iran, are controlled via ⁠satellite communications systems using SpaceX’s Starshield system, the military counterpart to the civilian Starlink network managed by Space Force. These weapons have jam-resistant communications anywhere in the world where Elon Musk’s network operates, yet cost only $35,000 each, far less than the $1.9 million per air-to-ground missile that they’re fast replacing.

 

U.S. space dominance likely provided real-time reconnaissance through advanced satellites. This was crucial for identifying and timing high-value targets, possibly including up-to-the-second tracking of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s location during a meeting with his inner circle, enabling a decapitation strike that killed him and other key leaders early in the operation.

 

U.S. Central Command confirmed that every one of Iran’s eleven deployed naval vessels in the Gulf of Oman had been sunk by the third day of the war. This included modern Iranian frigates and the regime’s precious and much hyped drone aircraft carrier. Both the reconnaissance which located these Iranian ships and the precision-guided munitions which likely eliminated them were reliant on American satellites. This ensured accurate hits on command-and-control hubs, ballistic missile sites, and nuclear-related infrastructure. Importantly, these actions simultaneously degrading Iran’s ability to project power or retaliate effectively.

 

Moreover, space assets provided early warning against Iranian counterattacks, which began shortly after the first strikes. Overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) satellites and ground-based radars tracked missile launches in real time, alerting U.S. forces and enabling intercepts by systems like Patriot, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and Navy destroyers. This defensive layer was critical during the first strike, as Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in the Gulf and allied targets; more than 90 percent were neutralized mid-flight. The Space Force’s calibration of these systems also disrupted Iran’s use of one-way attack drones (often called Shaheds), further limiting their response, without significant U.S. losses.

 

Without the advantages of the Space Force, built on decades of U.S. investment in orbital assets, the first strike might have faced heavier resistance, higher casualties, or less precision, potentially prolonging the conflict or reducing its initial impact.

 

This is a massive improvement compared to the previous administration’s unilaterally banned anti-satellite missile tests, which were halted in the mere hope that other countries would follow suit, putting America at a competitive disadvantage and effectively handicapping the country’s defenses.

 

The critical military importance of space has been obscured because every American conflict over the last few decades has been fought against minor powers. Operation Desert Storm was in many ways America’s first space war, because the allied forces made extensive use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for targeting. As I’ve previously written at National Review, getting America ready to fight a war in space was one of President Trump’s best ideas. America’s initial success in this conflict proves it.