Guest: Paul Szymanski; Topics: Paul's latest book, "The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space," fighting a war in space, leadership issues, understanding strategy, weapons, defenses, Space Force, space war history, space war goals, the FOB, defenses, a battle of the minds, risks and more.
Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed Pal Szymanski back to the show for updates regarding his work pertaining to space warfare, strategy, leadership and training. Paul led off by talking about his new book, "The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space," then he talked briefly about an already existing space war history that surprised many of us. Later we asked Paul for examples of the previous space wars for which he did provide some examples. Clearly, it was important to have a good working and operational definition of a space war which our guest did provide early in the program.
There were many surprises with much new material brought to us by our guest in this interview. Thus, as with other Space Show programs, follow the tags as they cover most all of our discussion topics and in most of the order the were talked about on the program. I'm repeating the tags below for your convenience. Actually, the list contains more than tags. Many of the items represent Paul's analysis and sometimes conclusion about a certain issue or topic.
Tags: Paul Szymanski, Space Strategies Centers, The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space, Space Warfare Group, war in space, previous space wars as described by our guest, attacking satellites, attacking ground stations, cyber attacks, lasers, diplomatic attacks, deny imaging, drones, attacking the adversaries mind, space debris, denial of spot imaging to others, Space Force understanding of war in space, hypervelocity in space, Starlink example, rendezvous and attack, closing in on satellites, China, Russia, EMP and GPS attacks, North Korea, satellite replacement, space war over in 24-48 hours, vulnerable choke points, the Joint Chiefs on how to fight a space war, conflict goals, one must fight the peace not the war, space war is between human minds, Outer Space Treat, smart hackers for cyber war, missile attacks to and from space, hiding hardware in orbit, fighting a war in space is strategic not tactical, technology vs. competence, space warfare history with examples, developing leadership with the right mindset, hair triggers and examples, war history, air war comparisons, China's lunar plans, human spaceflight concerns, nuclear gravity bomb, GPS guided weapons, UAP. analysis, fractional orbital weapons threat, China and India as true land powers, defending against the FOB.
One of the issues covered by our guest multiple times in this program was the need for our leaders to think strategic, not tactical. He also made comments that a space war was a war between minds. a war between technology vs. competence. To me he suggested our leadership was not the best for the task at hand. What do you think about that? Do let us know by posting on our blog. Another one of his comments was that a space war would be over in 24-48 hours, and it might be difficult to know the winner. Don't miss this comment and the context with which it was stated.
Our guest had lots to say about the Space Force, its mission and leadership. I got the impression that the Space Force was prepping for something other than a space war except maybe regarding cyber. At this point Paul brought in air warfare and the history of air war since World War 2. With the Space Force coming from the Air Force, perhaps more time and focus might be needed for a full-blown space understanding rather than an understanding of space as an extension of the air and its type of warfare. Share your thoughts with us on this by posting on our blog for this show.
Paul had much to say on fighting a war in space and on how to be sure to win it. He covered many important issues and topics plus he talked about specific weapons and would they or would they not be used. Like a rogue nation using an EMP on the U.S. or other western nations. Toward the end of the show, he left us with an intense message about the fractional orbital weapon that both China and Russia have but we don't. Also, he said there was no defense against that weapon. A startling way to conclude a most interesting discussion.
Please post your comments/questions for Paul on our blog. You can reach him through The Space Show or his LinkedIn Space Warfare Group or his profile under his name on his LinkedIn page.
The Space Show
