The Joint Air and Space Power Conference 2025, hosted by the NATO-accredited Joint Air Power Competence Centre, convened more than 200 senior leaders, experts, and stakeholders in Essen, Germany to examine the theme “Disrupting Dominance: The Future of Air Superiority?”. Over two days, participants addressed the shifting balance of power in the air and space domains, the rise of disruptive technologies, and the Alliance’s need to adapt to emerging threats ranging from low-cost drone swarms to advanced hypersonic weapons.
Amid this broad dialogue, Allied Command Transformation played a central role in shaping NATO’s vision for space. Major General Arnoud Stallmann, Assistant Chief of Staff for Multi-Domain Capability at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, represented the Command on the panel titled “’The Next Ten Years’ Thought Experiment”. During the exchange, he provided a distinct Space perspective, underscoring how developments in this domain will shape NATO’s ability to prepare for future conflict. This discussion asked senior experts to identify NATO’s highest priority tasks if the Alliance had only one to ten years to prepare for major conflict.
ACT’s Message: Deterrence and Defence in Space
Major General Stallmann underscored that space has become both vital and contested. He emphasized that adversaries are already challenging NATO’s freedom of action, citing Russia’s destructive anti-satellite test in 2021 and suspected development of space-based nuclear capabilities, as well as China’s ambitions to establish a permanent lunar base by 2035 and surpass U.S. space power by 2045.
His central message was clear: “We must take concrete steps now to deter and defend in space, or risk losing our access and freedom to operate there within the next decade.”
Major General Stallmann highlighted how Allied Command Transformation has led the Alliance in moving from passive observer to become a proactive sentinel in space. Since NATO declared space a new operational domain in 2019, Allied Command Transformation has continuously supported achievement of NATO’s critical milestones in the Space Domain. For instance, NATO established an operational advisory element for Allied Command Operations, created the NATO Space Operations Centre, supporting work across multiple strands in line with NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept for the Space Domain, furthermore developed a NATO space cadre of space professionals, and advanced the delivery of a new NATO Space Domain Capability Programme.
Preparing for a Multi-Domain Future
Looking ahead, Major General Stallmann framed NATO’s vision for space as part of a “Multi-Domain Operations–enabled Alliance by 2030.” Achieving this will require integrating space in the same manner as the other operational domains of land, maritime, air, and cyber.
Key priorities include:
- Space Domain Awareness: Ensuring NATO forces have a tailored Space Domain Awareness to be able to operate in a degraded, denied or disrupted Space environment with a real-time recognized space picture.
- Commercial Integration: Leveraging a rapidly expanding commercial sector, which accounted for 78% of the global space economy in 2024.
- Capability Development: Implementing the NATO Space Domain Capability Programme to deliver space data, products, and services across the Alliance.
- Resilience Across Domains: Synchronizing space with cyber, information, and cognitive effects to counter hybrid threats and grey-zone actions.
Partnerships and Education
Major General Stallmann also highlighted the complementary roles of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre and the NATO Space Centre of Excellence in Toulouse, France. Since its accreditation in 2023, the Space Centre of Excellence has become an important centre among NATO’s entities for doctrine, training, and education in the space domain. Together, these institutions support the Alliance’s evolution from air dominance to integrated multi-domain superiority. The NATO Space COE will be fully operational by early 2026 and will enhance the Alliance’s ability to develop and employ space expertise, providing critical support to NATO’s goal of being a Multi-Domain Operations-enabled Alliance by 2030.
A Call for Unity and Action
In his closing remarks, Major General Stallmann reminded participants that NATO’s strength lies in collective effort: “Alliance strength comes from federation of goodwill and ingenuity. To deter and defend one billion citizens, we must act together, now, to secure our future in space.” in a multi-domain operations environment.
Through Allied Command Transformation’s leadership in strategy, capability development, and the advancement of the Space Domain, NATO is positioning itself to meet the challenges of a contested and congested orbital environment. The message delivered in Essen was unequivocal: the next decade will decide whether the Alliance retains its freedom of action in space, and ACT is driving the transformation to ensure it does.
