Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space

by John Jordan Klein

Fight for the Final Frontier uses the concepts associated with irregular warfare to offer new insights for understanding the nature of strategic competition in space. Today’s most pressing security concerns are best considered using an irregular warfare lens because incidents and points of potential conflict fall outside the definition of armed conflict. While some universal rules of combat apply across all domains, conflict in space up-ends and flips those assumed standards of understanding. 
 
John Klein provides a solution to reckoning with the many malicious, nefarious, and irresponsible behaviors in the space domain by using the irregular warfare framework. This offers a new paradigm through which one can view and study conflict, outside traditional combat, involving state and non-state actors. A “war” in space will be utterly unlike any that have happened on Earth, though scholars can provide lessons from past conflict to understand the flashpoints in the heavens. 
 
Providing the needed foundational understanding, Fight for the Final Frontier makes the case that irregular warfare in the space domain is shaped by the fundamental nature of all warfare, along with universal principles of strategy and the essential unity of all strategic experience. Going one step further, John Klein outlines the new arenas for battle, new areas of conflict and competition, and the necessary concepts for operating in this bold new frontier. 

Genres: Military Fiction, Space

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2023

Reviews

[Dave Weathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is nothing new under the sun.” That includes space. Fight for the Final Frontier pushes back against the idea that space is a brand-new battlefield and Clausewitz doesn’t get a seat on the rocket. The book shows that just as in land, sea, and air, strategy in space will follow familiar patterns while recognizing its proclivity to irregular means. Rivals are unlikely to line up for clean force-on-force fights; they’ll exploit space infrastructure through sabotage, interference, and asymmetric pressure. By cutting through the hype and framing space within the long history of irregular competition, the book is a clear guide for thinking about the next phase with the Great Power Competition. 20 years from now, this is one we’ll regret more people didn’t pay attention to.

The views expressed are my own and do not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, or the U.S. Government.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lenses

Looking at space operations through the lenses of maritime irregular warfare makes this book so interesting. The author draws on the framework and early operations of the us navy and marine corps to suggest a way ahead in space operations, offensive and defensive. Awesome

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

John J. Klein’s Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space is a timely, incisive, and—dare I say—galactically grounded exploration of a topic often overshadowed by laser-beam fantasies and Hollywood dramatics. Klein, a strategist with deep credentials and clear-eyed pragmatism, manages to deliver a rare feat: a book that is academically rigorous, professionally relevant, and—brace yourself—actually enjoyable to read.

This isn’t just another book about satellites or orbital debris. It’s a strategic wake-up call that reminds us space is not merely a sterile domain of vacuum-sealed hardware and Newtonian physics. Instead, Klein argues persuasively that space is a profoundly human arena—where ideology, deception, power, and politics follow us beyond the stratosphere like persistent orbital debris.

Crucially, this work is not only an important contribution to space-related military thought, but also incredibly timely. Many recent titles in the field become so enamored with the uniqueness of space—its physics, remoteness, and legal ambiguity—that they treat it as if it exists in strategic isolation, floating free of earthly geopolitics. Klein corrects this trajectory. He reattaches the umbilical cord between space and Earth, showing that the people who operate, exploit, and depend on space systems are the same ones who navigate terrestrial military realities. By connecting the high frontier to the familiar domains of land, sea, air, and cyber, Klein reminds us that space is not exempt from the messy, irregular, and political nature of human conflict—it’s just another theater, albeit with a far better view.

From spoofing and jamming to the strategic use of commercial constellations, Klein artfully examines how space is ripe for the tactics of the shadowy in-between: deterrence by ambiguity, narrative manipulation, norm-shaping, and the quiet sabotage of systems never meant for a battlefield. He draws on historical analogies—naval strategy, insurgency doctrine, and hybrid warfare—to craft a compelling argument for why irregular warfare may become the defining feature of 21st-century spacepower.

And here’s the quirky part: if you’ve ever wondered what The Art of War would sound like if Sun Tzu had a PhD in orbital mechanics and a mild disdain for PowerPoint slides, this might be it. Klein doesn’t just think outside the box—he jettisons the box into low Earth orbit and watches how it decays over time.

Bonus points: it’s now available in audiobook—perfect for the space enthusiast on the go. Whether you're commuting, jogging, or just orbiting your own daily chaos, Klein’s voice (well, someone’s voice) will guide you through the irregular cosmos of space conflict with clarity and conviction.

In sum: Fight for the Final Frontier belongs on the shelf—and in the rucksack—of every space professional, national security scholar, and strategist looking to understand the real fights of the space age. I sincerely and enthusiastically endorse this book. Because if we continue to plan for space war as if it were a clean-room experiment, we’ll be outfoxed by those already waging it like insurgents in the stars.