Wargames in space: US reherses satellite ‘dogfight’ across three orbits

US Space Command has carried out its first live-fly exercise built around manoeuvring spacecraft across several orbital regimes, taking concepts more commonly associated with aerial combat into an increasingly contested space domain.

Apollo Maneuvers 2026 was held during the first week of September and involved coordinated activity in low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO)

The exercise also tested how spacecraft could be supported and serviced while manoeuvring, rather than remaining in the predictable orbits that have traditionally defined satellite operations.

Space Command has not disclosed which spacecraft participated or how many were involved. Space.com reported that existing military satellites and partner capabilities were used, but details of the individual spacecraft remain classified or undisclosed.

The exercise reflects a fundamental change in how the US military is thinking about satellites. Instead of treating them principally as platforms placed into known orbits to provide communications, navigation, surveillance and missile warning, commanders increasingly want spacecraft capable of moving to survive, evade threats and gain a tactical advantage.

“Operating from a static, predictable orbit leaves our assets fighting from an easily targeted, fixed position,” Gen Stephen Whiting, commander of US Space Command, said.

“To perform, survive, and gain advantage in the space domain, we need manoeuvrability and survivability in our capabilities.”

What does ‘dogfighting’ in space actually mean?

The comparison with fighter combat is striking, but orbital dogfighting bears little resemblance to two aircraft turning against each other in the atmosphere.

Spacecraft travel at thousands of kilometres per hour and are governed by orbital mechanics. Changing altitude, inclination or position relative to another satellite consumes fuel and can take considerable planning. A satellite that manoeuvres frequently also needs enough propulsion or eventually access to refuelling, to avoid shortening its useful life.

In this context, “dogfighting” refers broadly to spacecraft manoeuvring relative to one another to gain a favourable position, observe another satellite, evade surveillance or potentially place an adversary’s spacecraft at risk.

Space.com, citing earlier comments by then-US Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen Michael Guetlein, described the concept as objects manoeuvring around one another in a controlled and synchronised fashion.

Guetlein had used the term while discussing Chinese satellite activity observed in 2024.

Apollo Maneuvers was not described officially as a weapons exercise. Space Command instead said it was intended to demonstrate “dynamic on-orbit operations”, validate contested logistics and develop space manoeuvre doctrine.

That distinction matters. Manoeuvrable spacecraft can perform peaceful inspection, servicing and rendezvous missions as well as military ones. The same ability to approach another satellite, however, can have obvious military applications.

US exercise follows observed Chinese ‘dogfighting’ manoeuvres in orbit

Apollo Maneuvers did not emerge simply as a theoretical exercise. US military officials have previously disclosed that they were watching Chinese spacecraft perform coordinated manoeuvres that they described as resembling “dogfighting” in orbit.

In 2025, then-US Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen Michael Guetlein said Chinese satellites observed during 2024 had been moving around one another in a controlled and synchronised manner. “That’s what we call dogfighting in space,” he said, according to Air & Space Forces, remarks subsequently reported by Space.com.

China has demonstrated other sophisticated proximity capabilities. A Chinese spacecraft has grappled a defunct satellite and moved it to another orbit, while US officials have also pointed to what they assessed was an attempt at on-orbit refuelling. Such technologies have legitimate uses, including servicing and debris removal, but they could also allow a spacecraft to approach, shadow or interfere with another satellite.

That activity has become part of the backdrop to Washington’s changing approach to military operations in space. Apollo Maneuvers takes the next step: rather than simply observing another country demonstrate sophisticated orbital manoeuvres, US Space Command is now practising how its own spacecraft and those of its partners could manoeuvre for advantage in a contested environment.

Guetlein also described jamming, spoofing and dazzling as increasingly common features of the space environment. He said foreign satellites had shadowed US spacecraft in what he characterised as a “cat and mouse game”.

China’s growing space-based intelligence network was another concern. Guetlein said Beijing had progressed from a traditional “kill chain” towards what he called a “kill mesh”, linking intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites with weapons systems.

That backdrop helps explain why manoeuvre is becoming central to US space doctrine. A satellite whose position and orbital path are predictable can be tracked well in advance. A spacecraft able to change its orbit repeatedly presents a more difficult target.

Keeping manoeuvring satellites supplied becomes another problem

Most satellites launch with a finite supply of propellant. Every significant manoeuvre uses some of it, potentially reducing the spacecraft’s operational life. A military strategy based on sustained orbital manoeuvring therefore requires a logistics system to support it.

Apollo Maneuvers consequently went beyond moving satellites. Space Command used the exercise to examine contested logistics and satellite servicing. Data gathered will feed into operational plans and future requirements for maintaining sustained manoeuvre in orbit.

That could eventually make refuelling, repair and servicing spacecraft increasingly important to military operations.

“Executing coordinated activities across multiple orbits through live-fly elements enables us to reinforce the warfighting advantage of our partnerships by refining tactics, examining contested logistics, and developing satellite servicing requirements,” Whiting said.

The US military has already been experimenting with related capabilities. Space.com reported that a Rocket Lab-launched Puma satellite rendezvoused with a True Anomaly Jackal spacecraft in June 2026. The two then manoeuvred close to one another in what the Space Force described as simulated “dynamic engagements”.

Allies and commercial companies join the exercise

Apollo Maneuvers was also multinational. Participating countries from Multinational Force-Operation Olympic Defender were integrated into the exercise. AFCEA reported that the grouping includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and US.

Commercial capabilities were brought in through the Commercial Integration Cell at the Combined Space Operations Center, based at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Space Command said the exercise was used to validate combined tactics, techniques and procedures.

The involvement of private companies is significant because the Pentagon increasingly relies on commercial satellite communications, imagery, launch and spacecraft technology. A conflict in orbit would therefore not be confined neatly to dedicated military satellites.

Space Command says Apollo Maneuvers was inspired partly by the US Army’s Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941, large exercises used to test doctrine and expose weaknesses before America entered the Second World War.

The comparison is deliberate. Space Command is still working out how sustained manoeuvre, logistics and coalition operations would function if satellites had to operate under threat.

Apollo Maneuvers moves that work beyond simulations and planning. For the first time under this exercise framework, some of those ideas were tested with spacecraft already in orbit.