It’s 2027. Chinese warships have encircled Taiwan. High above, China’s growing fleet of satellites track and target United States military forces across the Pacific. At the same time, an array of Chinese counterspace measures threaten to disrupt and severely degrade U.S. space capabilities essential to any military response.

Today, time is running short to meet the challenges posed by this scenario and establish the deterrence that could prevent it by fielding advanced U.S. national security space capabilities. Failure to do so puts American lives and other vital interests at risk.

Achieving the speed needed to outpace threats in space and beyond will require putting real resources into new approaches. Our nation has long excelled at developing exquisite systems that offer unparalleled performance. But as profound technological shifts remake the space domain, our current moment calls for us to invest in the space capability innovators that are emerging as the U.S.’s greatest relative strength.