Get insight into the future of space warfare! Join Dr James WE Smith and Dr John Klein for a discussion on space strategy from his latest book 'Space Warfare 2^nd Edition' (2024).

The online lecture will explore the topic of space warfare and the book. The book examines military space strategy within the context of the land and naval strategies of the past. This second edition of the book has been updated and revised, with several new chapters included to account for developments in space for nations and growing geostrategic and geopolitical matters in which space is increasingly playing a role.

Space Warfare 2^nd edition examines competition and conflict in the space domain, including the methods used and sound counterstrategies to thwart a competitor’s efforts. Contrary to many space power pundits, the book explains that neither is the space domain inherently offense-dominant, nor is there a first-mover advantage when incorporating a sound space strategy. Offering new insights into the nature of strategic competition in space, this second edition leans heavily on the British maritime experience and the work of Julian Corbett to provide a strategic framework for understanding competition, crisis, and conflict in the space domain. It also includes important concepts from leading theorists and strategists, both past and present, to amplify concepts and provide additional insights into the functioning of space strategy. The book provides a foundational framework by underscoring that space strategy is shaped by the fundamental nature of all warfare, the universal principles of strategy and the essential unity of all strategic experience. Warfare is warfare, no matter the domain of operations, and consequently, policymakers and military leaders can look to historical experience and knowledge of past strategic frameworks to help gain insights into the functioning of space warfare.

This lecture will be of interest to students, military personnel, and government officials who are interested in space warfare, space power, defence, strategic studies, and international relations.

Dr Smith will host Dr J Klein's presentation on space warfare, followed by a discussion between the scholars and a Q&A session.

This event is open to the public and free to attend online via Zoom. Click here to register

About the Host: Dr James WE Smith is a British Academy Research sponsored scholar for Space and the Laughton-Corbett Research Fellow. As the Laughton-Corbett Research Fellow, James focuses on matters such as maritime strategy in the War Studies Department.

About the Speaker: Dr John Klein, callsign “Patsy,” is a Senior Fellow and Strategist at Falcon Research, Inc., and also instructs space policy and strategy courses at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, Georgetown University’s Strategic Studies Program, and Institute of World Politics at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate levels respectively. He routinely writes on space strategy, deterrence, and the Law of Armed Conflict. He is the author of the books Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles and Policy (2006), Understanding Space Strategy: The Art of War in Space (2019), and the recently released Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space (2023), along with Space Warfare 2^nd Edition (2024).

Patsy is also a retired Commander of the United States Navy, receiving his commission through the NROTC program at Georgia Tech. He served for 22 years as a Naval Flight Officer, primarily flying in the S-3B Viking carrier-based aircraft. Patsy supported combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His tours included the Executive Officer of Sea Control Squadron Twenty-Four and the final Commanding Officer of Sea Control Weapons School.

Patsy holds a master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, a master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and a PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Reading, England. Patsy is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He has over 2,700 flight hours in 27 different types of aircraft and over 600 carrier-arrested landings.