The Land Force Goes to Space: Why the Army Wants To Engage Satellites
The US Army is stepping decisively into the fight for control of space. Its mission is no longer limited to protecting ground forces through satellite support; it now openly aims to directly “engage” adversary satellites from the ground, especially those used to find and target US troops.
Colonel Joe Mroszcyck, head of the Transformation Integration Directorate – Space Superiority (TID-SS) within Army Space and Missile Defense Command, frames the shift with a simple analogy:
“It’s not foreign for the Army to shoot a ship at sea. Why should it be any different for the Army to engage a satellite in space? It’s the same construct: we maneuver on land and deliver effects across all domains.”
In other words, space is no longer the exclusive preserve of air and space forces. The land component is now claiming a direct role in space superiority missions.
No Explosions in Orbit: A Turn to “Clean” Anti-Satellite Weapons
Mroszcyck declines to detail exactly which weapons the Army might use against satellites, but one red line is clearly drawn: traditional destructive kinetic anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons are off the table when they generate clouds of debris that could clutter orbit for decades.
US space policy explicitly rejects ASAT attacks that create “long-lived” orbital debris. In practice, this pushes the Army toward non-kinetic effectors designed to disable or disrupt satellite sensors and systems without shattering them into thousands of fragments.
TID-SS, the directorate Mroszcyck leads, oversees the design, development and modernization of space-enabled, missile-defense and high-altitude architectures. It also acts as a bridge between operational units and the new Program Executive Office for Counter Command and Control, ensuring that real-world operational needs are built into acquisition programs from the start.
Top Priority: Shutting Down the “Eyes and Ears” in Orbit
For the US Army, the central objective is straightforward: prevent adversary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites from collecting targeting data on US forces and installations.
In an era of proliferated constellations and “sensors everywhere,” high-resolution, near-real-time satellite imagery can provide an enormous advantage to any adversary. That is why Mroszcyck emphasizes “actually preventing the collection”, not just jamming communications links.
US Space Command expects all services to contribute to space superiority: it isn’t enough to rely on satellites; the military must also be able to deny adversaries the use of their own space assets. The Army’s specific contribution is to deliver such effects from the ground, using terrestrial systems.
Directed Energy: How to “Blind” and “Deafen” Satellites
With kinetic ASATs constrained, attention shifts to directed-energy weapons and advanced electronic warfare tools. US Space Command deputy commander Lt. Gen. Rick Zellmann highlights directed-energy systems in particular for their low cost per shot.
These weapons employ electromagnetic energy across the spectrum:
- High-energy lasers
- Target satellites that use optical cameras or infrared sensors to track ground targets.
- Can cause temporary dazzling or permanent damage to sensors, effectively blocking the collection of usable imagery.
- High-power microwave weapons and RF bombardment
- Focus on satellites with radar sensors (such as Synthetic Aperture Radar – SAR) or other RF-based payloads.
- By flooding them with powerful radio-frequency energy, they can “deafen” the satellite, masking useful signals under overwhelming noise.
In parallel, the Army continues to develop traditional electronic warfare capabilities to jam SATCOM receivers and command and control nodes that rely on satellite links. The difference now is the open emphasis on direct on-orbit effects, not just attacks against ground segments.
The New Battlespace: Stratospheric Warfare Between Air and Space
Beyond satellites, Mroszcyck underscores a second major focus area: “stratospheric warfare” – operations in the high layers of the atmosphere, between conventional airspace and low Earth orbit.
Here, the Army is experimenting with two main types of platforms:
- “Lighter than air” – high-altitude balloons
- “Heavier than air” – large, high-altitude fixed-wing platforms
While interest exists for both, Mroszcyck is far more optimistic about balloons. Large, lightweight, high-altitude aircraft have struggled with technical and operational challenges, whereas balloons have already proven their value in real-world testing.
High-Altitude Balloons: Cheap, Flexible “Pseudo-Satellites”
A key argument for high-altitude balloons is cost and flexibility. They can perform many of the missions traditionally handled by satellites – from surveillance to communications relay – but without the enormous expense and orbital constraints associated with space-based platforms.
The Army has already validated requirements for multiple balloon sizes and earmarked funding in the FY2027 budget plan to provide an initial capability to a few units. In Mroszcyck’s vision, balloons can serve as backup or redundant capabilities when satellites are degraded, jammed, or destroyed.
After five to six years of exercises and experiments, specialists are convinced of their usefulness. The remaining challenge is “educating” formations and senior leaders about the return on investment in such systems.
microHABs: Persistent High-Altitude Networks Over Long Distances
One recent example is the use of micro–High-Altitude Balloons (microHABs) during the Vanguard 24 exercise in September 2024. According to the Army, these micro-balloons successfully created a continuous, long-range aerial relay and intelligence network.
Effectively, the balloons acted as high-altitude network nodes, extending the reach of sensors and communications regardless of terrain or terrestrial infrastructure.
Balloon-Launched Drones: Invisible “Carriers” in the Sky
Perhaps the most intriguing innovation is using balloons as launch platforms for drones. Mroszcyck says experiments have already been conducted with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched from balloons, delivering two major advantages:
- Peacetime and exercises – recovering valuable payloads
Tactical balloons drift with the wind, and their payloads are often lost at the end of a mission, especially over the ocean.
If a UAS detaches the payload from the balloon and flies it back, the investment can be recovered, instead of being written off. - In conflict – pushing payloads deeper into the battlespace
The balloon lifts the payload to high altitude without consuming the drone’s energy. From there, the UAS starts with full power reserves, enabling longer range and endurance for ISR, electronic warfare or strike missions, depending on the payload.
“The balloon gets you 90 percent of the way and keeps you up without having to burn energy to get to altitude. Then the UAS can take advantage of that altitude and the duration you get from it,” Mroszcyck explains.
From Ground to Orbit: Building a New Deterrence Architecture
The convergence of directed-energy weapons, advanced electronic warfare, high-altitude balloons, and balloon-launched drones is shaping an entirely new deterrence and combat architecture.
The US Army no longer wants to be just a consumer of space services provided by others. It aims to become a direct actor in contesting and defending the space domain, from the ground and from the stratosphere, seeking to “close the eyes and ears” of its adversaries before they can pull the trigger.
