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Deep Space Warfare: Military Strategy Beyond Orbit
Since the Cold War, outer space has become of strategic importance for nations looking to seize the ultimate high ground. World powers establishing a presence there must consider, among other things, how they will conduct warfare in orbit. Leaders must dispense with "Buck Rogers" notions about operations in space and realize that policies there will have serious ramifications for geopolitics.
How should nations view space? How should they fight there? What would space warfare look like and how should strategists approach it? Offering critical observations regarding this unique theater of international relations, a military professional explores the strategic implications as human affairs move beyond Earth's atmosphere.
How should nations view space? How should they fight there? What would space warfare look like and how should strategists approach it? Offering critical observations regarding this unique theater of international relations, a military professional explores the strategic implications as human affairs move beyond Earth's atmosphere.
- GenresSpaceMilitary Fiction
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2020
16 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 5, 2023
Very very interesting book on so many fields - from the organizational, logistical, concrete combat technology and approaches to space combat and space warfare in general.
Everything that authors mentions is applicable to the warfare on Earth. As a matter of fact author shows how future combat amongst the stars will be reminiscent of mystery and terror of age of sailboats on Earth. High level of risk, extremely high level of gain and catastrophe always lurking on the horizon ready to snuff out the ships, the crew, everything and not leave any mark of human passing.
Author's opinions on government vs private sector are also very interesting and I agree with him. Private companies will definitely show up but it will be like cleaner fishes swimming with big whites. They will be there to give a boost but will rely on governmental support, funding and access to technology. Main drivers of space explorations due to the epic level of difficulties will remain governments.
I especially liked the chapters on human vs human space combat (since we will definitely be our own wolves even when we move into the starry landscape) - politics, isolation, effects of the same, especially chapters on treaties and how they are almost never followed and are used only to benefit one party while tying the hands of another (this rings so true especially in light of conflict in Europe raging for several years now and politicians coming out and - for some reason - telling the truth).
Then comes the logistics, very cataclysmic combat amongst stars where defeated party will most definitely get obliterated if for no other reason then for the fact that any hard ground will be so distant it will be unreachable. The very amount of forces needed to conquer planets, mind boggling planning and resources required to execute the operation .... all of this author manages to present in very clear way.
When it comes to technology I have to say I am surprised (in a good way) by authors comments regarding looking for silver bullet, especially when planning the operation that will take years if not decades to execute. Chapter on space fighters and analogy between the today's sea navy and future space navy are just great, especially chapters on how rules of engagement and role of both merchant and combat navy will remain paramount when the gigantic ships start sailing through the space.
Author also touches on the current state of affairs (and the US arch enemies in the east - that ever present need to have an enemy in order to have raison d'etre) and explains the need for developing the separate branch that will be solely dedicated to fighting wars in space. Authors discussions on planet wide government, is planet wide unification even possible, show certain bias that is present also in other books I read recently. Which again is as expected because nobody wants to see their own country and alliances trampled although author clearly sees them as enforced organizations that present more imperialistic than open membership organizations. In my opinion it is good when people write about things like these even through prism of futurology.
Author does not touch on current space warfare which is, considering when the book was written, not that surprising. There was no conflict that would involve any space assets in direct combat, especially conventional one. I understand that all space crafts launched definitely need to have dual purpose - civilian and military - if for no reason than because of the cost, but recent conflict in Europe shows that very soon we will definitely witness attrition of space craft and in future even space stations (since international cooperation is going to take a back seat for a long time). If anything, recent conflict has shown that multi purpose space craft in orbit are primarily military vehicles and by far secondary civilian objects (i.e. Starlink system or "private" satellites for photographing Earth for "peaceful" purposes). As such they will become targets very soon in one way or the another and that will be significant strike to the civilian infrastructure, especially when all these dual purpose devices start going offline and fall on planet Earth. You just cannot implement judgement day class technology and expect no repercussions when you make your assets visible to everyone in the world publicly.
I think that governments throughout the world will start developing space craft delivery systems more intensively due to the very nature of the problem - replenishment needs to be fast and almost automatic, and currently very few countries can do this in the economical way. Everything that "experts" were afraid of - but actively worked on - will come to pass, we will have definitely arms race in space and this will just bring ever more difficult conditions to the surface of our planet.
Very interesting book, highly recommended for all those interested in military and warfare.
Everything that authors mentions is applicable to the warfare on Earth. As a matter of fact author shows how future combat amongst the stars will be reminiscent of mystery and terror of age of sailboats on Earth. High level of risk, extremely high level of gain and catastrophe always lurking on the horizon ready to snuff out the ships, the crew, everything and not leave any mark of human passing.
Author's opinions on government vs private sector are also very interesting and I agree with him. Private companies will definitely show up but it will be like cleaner fishes swimming with big whites. They will be there to give a boost but will rely on governmental support, funding and access to technology. Main drivers of space explorations due to the epic level of difficulties will remain governments.
I especially liked the chapters on human vs human space combat (since we will definitely be our own wolves even when we move into the starry landscape) - politics, isolation, effects of the same, especially chapters on treaties and how they are almost never followed and are used only to benefit one party while tying the hands of another (this rings so true especially in light of conflict in Europe raging for several years now and politicians coming out and - for some reason - telling the truth).
Then comes the logistics, very cataclysmic combat amongst stars where defeated party will most definitely get obliterated if for no other reason then for the fact that any hard ground will be so distant it will be unreachable. The very amount of forces needed to conquer planets, mind boggling planning and resources required to execute the operation .... all of this author manages to present in very clear way.
When it comes to technology I have to say I am surprised (in a good way) by authors comments regarding looking for silver bullet, especially when planning the operation that will take years if not decades to execute. Chapter on space fighters and analogy between the today's sea navy and future space navy are just great, especially chapters on how rules of engagement and role of both merchant and combat navy will remain paramount when the gigantic ships start sailing through the space.
Author also touches on the current state of affairs (and the US arch enemies in the east - that ever present need to have an enemy in order to have raison d'etre) and explains the need for developing the separate branch that will be solely dedicated to fighting wars in space. Authors discussions on planet wide government, is planet wide unification even possible, show certain bias that is present also in other books I read recently. Which again is as expected because nobody wants to see their own country and alliances trampled although author clearly sees them as enforced organizations that present more imperialistic than open membership organizations. In my opinion it is good when people write about things like these even through prism of futurology.
Author does not touch on current space warfare which is, considering when the book was written, not that surprising. There was no conflict that would involve any space assets in direct combat, especially conventional one. I understand that all space crafts launched definitely need to have dual purpose - civilian and military - if for no reason than because of the cost, but recent conflict in Europe shows that very soon we will definitely witness attrition of space craft and in future even space stations (since international cooperation is going to take a back seat for a long time). If anything, recent conflict has shown that multi purpose space craft in orbit are primarily military vehicles and by far secondary civilian objects (i.e. Starlink system or "private" satellites for photographing Earth for "peaceful" purposes). As such they will become targets very soon in one way or the another and that will be significant strike to the civilian infrastructure, especially when all these dual purpose devices start going offline and fall on planet Earth. You just cannot implement judgement day class technology and expect no repercussions when you make your assets visible to everyone in the world publicly.
I think that governments throughout the world will start developing space craft delivery systems more intensively due to the very nature of the problem - replenishment needs to be fast and almost automatic, and currently very few countries can do this in the economical way. Everything that "experts" were afraid of - but actively worked on - will come to pass, we will have definitely arms race in space and this will just bring ever more difficult conditions to the surface of our planet.
Very interesting book, highly recommended for all those interested in military and warfare.
June 17, 2025
Major John C. Wright deserves credit for venturing where few military thinkers tread: outlining a doctrine for conflict in the void beyond Earth. Deep Space Warfare is an earnest primer that tackles orbital dominance, logistics, deterrence, and strategic positioning with clear prose, minimal jargon, and a planner’s sense of order. It is exactly the kind of serious, nuts-and-bolts approach space-minded strategists often call for—but seldom deliver.
Unfortunately, one of the book’s central assumptions is a faulty life-support system. Early on it draws an admirable line in the regolith: “Technologies like warp drive, wormhole travel, propulsion at or beyond light speed, automated factories, and other possible but not yet probable topics will be left to science-fiction writers and casual space enthusiasts.” Sensible enough—except the text then blithely plots interstellar campaigns as if the jump to Proxima Centauri (4.2 light-years away) were a mildly longer red-eye. Even the rosiest estimate—about 7,230 years one-way—would test the patience of Methuselah, let alone a campaign planner.
Here the narrative slips into a structural crack. Strategy is the alignment of ends, ways, and means. The book proposes credible ends—maintaining space superiority, deterring aggression, safeguarding infrastructure—yet largely sidesteps the means. By refusing to grapple with propulsion beyond present capabilities, it leaves the ways—how to use future means to achieve those ends—floating untethered. Missions imagined across multiple star systems lack the physical, logistical, and temporal glue to hold them together.
The omission snowballs. Without faster transit, assumptions about movement, maneuver, and force structure warp (pun intended). If future engines ever slash travel to even a handful of generations, uncrewed vehicles could dominate, latency would shrink, and operations once glacial might resemble high-speed chess. Mission command over decades is hard; over millennia it borders on fantasy. Detailed vignettes of crewed multi-system expeditions end up reading like war plans paced by continental drift.
Layer on the book’s musings about first contact, and the speculation collapses under its own variables. Which government—or coalition—would represent humanity? Could it actually rally public opinion behind a single course of action? Who, or what, would be waiting on the far side of the airlock, and where would they fall on the technological spectrum? Even the contact site would upend communications latency and rules of engagement. The text nods to some of these riddles late in the narrative, yet crafting strategy under such uncertainty is like planning a war against moon-dwelling aliens with Stone-Age hand-axes: you can invoke Clausewitz all day, but without credible technology and a concrete employment concept, meaningful insight remains elusive.
That is not to say the book is without value. When the discussion is applied within the bounds of our own solar system—or at least the plausible outer edges of near-future capability—it provides some thoughtful insights into orbital mechanics, the vulnerability of satellites, the militarization of space infrastructure, and the logic of deterrence in various earth orbits. These sections offer useful framing for theorists and potential future planners alike, especially those looking to bridge the current gap between civilian space enthusiasm and serious military planning.
One can’t shake the feeling, however, that the work would have achieved escape velocity had it stayed within intra-solar-system limits. By dancing around the propulsion paradox, it poses the right questions yet builds many answers on slow-motion impossibilities.
Bottom line: Deep Space Warfare is a well-structured foray into a field still taking shape, and the book’s disciplined avoidance of sci-fi indulgence is admirable. But by declining to confront the propulsion paradox head-on, the book leaves its most ambitious ideas floating without thrust. Read it as a conversation-starter—and perhaps as a quiet invitation for engineers to hurry up and invent something faster.
Unfortunately, one of the book’s central assumptions is a faulty life-support system. Early on it draws an admirable line in the regolith: “Technologies like warp drive, wormhole travel, propulsion at or beyond light speed, automated factories, and other possible but not yet probable topics will be left to science-fiction writers and casual space enthusiasts.” Sensible enough—except the text then blithely plots interstellar campaigns as if the jump to Proxima Centauri (4.2 light-years away) were a mildly longer red-eye. Even the rosiest estimate—about 7,230 years one-way—would test the patience of Methuselah, let alone a campaign planner.
Here the narrative slips into a structural crack. Strategy is the alignment of ends, ways, and means. The book proposes credible ends—maintaining space superiority, deterring aggression, safeguarding infrastructure—yet largely sidesteps the means. By refusing to grapple with propulsion beyond present capabilities, it leaves the ways—how to use future means to achieve those ends—floating untethered. Missions imagined across multiple star systems lack the physical, logistical, and temporal glue to hold them together.
The omission snowballs. Without faster transit, assumptions about movement, maneuver, and force structure warp (pun intended). If future engines ever slash travel to even a handful of generations, uncrewed vehicles could dominate, latency would shrink, and operations once glacial might resemble high-speed chess. Mission command over decades is hard; over millennia it borders on fantasy. Detailed vignettes of crewed multi-system expeditions end up reading like war plans paced by continental drift.
Layer on the book’s musings about first contact, and the speculation collapses under its own variables. Which government—or coalition—would represent humanity? Could it actually rally public opinion behind a single course of action? Who, or what, would be waiting on the far side of the airlock, and where would they fall on the technological spectrum? Even the contact site would upend communications latency and rules of engagement. The text nods to some of these riddles late in the narrative, yet crafting strategy under such uncertainty is like planning a war against moon-dwelling aliens with Stone-Age hand-axes: you can invoke Clausewitz all day, but without credible technology and a concrete employment concept, meaningful insight remains elusive.
That is not to say the book is without value. When the discussion is applied within the bounds of our own solar system—or at least the plausible outer edges of near-future capability—it provides some thoughtful insights into orbital mechanics, the vulnerability of satellites, the militarization of space infrastructure, and the logic of deterrence in various earth orbits. These sections offer useful framing for theorists and potential future planners alike, especially those looking to bridge the current gap between civilian space enthusiasm and serious military planning.
One can’t shake the feeling, however, that the work would have achieved escape velocity had it stayed within intra-solar-system limits. By dancing around the propulsion paradox, it poses the right questions yet builds many answers on slow-motion impossibilities.
Bottom line: Deep Space Warfare is a well-structured foray into a field still taking shape, and the book’s disciplined avoidance of sci-fi indulgence is admirable. But by declining to confront the propulsion paradox head-on, the book leaves its most ambitious ideas floating without thrust. Read it as a conversation-starter—and perhaps as a quiet invitation for engineers to hurry up and invent something faster.
January 2, 2021
I struggled about what rating to give this book because, while pretty good, this is a very complicated series of issues many people really aren't aware of, due to no fault of their own. In no particular order, the concepts of space warfare & current/future space warfare doctrine are constantly evolving which is made all the more difficult by A) we're treading in uncharted territory and B) it's moved beyond merely a geopolitical phenomena to a more pragmatic, yet more dangerous current status. Which most people don't realize, don't or wouldn't take seriously and if/when told of the current variables in play, would most likely feel disillusioned at what many would view as quite boring. Which it actually is not.
Aside from the deep orbit exploration & accompanying geopolitical issues surrounding such, the truth is that at the present the primary issue the US and global states (no longer merely global or regional hegemonies) is that of very potentially dangerous logistical overcrowding of ... satellites. Yeah, I know how sexy that sounds, which is to say for most, not at all. The various problems involving that viewpoint really entail a lack of public knowledge or education as to how many, to what degree, how potentially complex
Aside from the deep orbit exploration & accompanying geopolitical issues surrounding such, the truth is that at the present the primary issue the US and global states (no longer merely global or regional hegemonies) is that of very potentially dangerous logistical overcrowding of ... satellites. Yeah, I know how sexy that sounds, which is to say for most, not at all. The various problems involving that viewpoint really entail a lack of public knowledge or education as to how many, to what degree, how potentially complex
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2020
Deep space warfare deals with the scenarios which human sentient will face beyond the LEO and MEO. It covers the opportunities and difficulties, for extracting the wealth from NEO and Asteroid belts. This book also throws light how invasion on some planet can happen? And what will be the logistics impediments? However what i really miss in the book was: The auth has explored the possibilities of human vs non-human or some other species, but in reality we are facing US vs China how they consider , understand or approach domination of space. This aspects was completely missing. Overall 5 stars.
January 11, 2024
The beginning of this book was good. A lot of good strategy and history of how we got to where we are now, and on some of the building blocks he was going to use like Mahan. However, the book quickly turned into what felt like a sci fi nerd talking at a brewery. The ideas explored in the later chapters felt to "what if'd" to me. I would much rather talk about true strategy especially based on what we have now. Jumping right to naval fleets in space is just too big of a jump for my taste.
September 4, 2024
Near unmitigated drivel, alas.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews