By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is taking a major leap into the next frontier of national defense with plans to establish a dedicated Space Center that could eventually be transformed into a full-scale Space Command, as the military prepares to deploy its first defense satellites within the next two years.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military is moving ahead with the creation of the organization even before the satellites become operational, emphasizing that institutional readiness must come first.
“We cannot afford to wait until the satellites are already in orbit before building the organization that will manage them,” Brawner explained after the AFP’s first-semester Command Conference at Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.
The military aims to place its first satellite assets in space by 2028, with funding already approved by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., signaling the administration’s commitment to expanding the country’s strategic defense capabilities.
According to Brawner, the initiative was inspired by the President’s directive during the AFP’s year-end Command Conference in 2025, when Marcos challenged military leaders to pursue an independent satellite capability for the armed forces.
Since then, the AFP has begun laying the foundation for what could become one of the country’s most significant defense modernization projects.
The military will collaborate closely with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) in developing the program, with initial operations expected to utilize low-Earth orbit satellites capable of enhancing surveillance, intelligence gathering, communications, and national security operations.
Military officials envision the proposed Space Center initially operating as a specialized organization before expanding into a larger command responsible for managing future space-based defense assets.
Brawner stressed that future conflicts will increasingly depend on advanced technologies, including satellites, cyber warfare, drones, artificial intelligence, and precision-guided missile systems.
He said space-based assets would significantly improve the AFP’s ability to monitor territorial waters, secure communications, conduct intelligence and reconnaissance missions, and support command-and-control operations during both military and humanitarian missions.
The AFP chief likewise disclosed that the military has already neutralized over three million cyberattack attempts since January, underscoring the growing importance of strengthening both cyber and space capabilities against evolving security threats.
Brawner emphasized that modern defense planning requires anticipating future challenges instead of merely reacting to them.
He said the AFP’s long-term vision is to build an organization capable of protecting Philippine interests not only on land, at sea, and in the air, but also in cyberspace and the increasingly strategic domain of outer space.
ia/xf
