US Space Command's APEX Summit Puts AI to Work for Campaign Planning
U.S. Space Command ran its first AI-enabled Augmented Planning and Execution (APEX) Summit Nov. 18-21, 2025, split between the Bayfield facility in Colorado Springs and a MITRE-operated site. More than 70 leaders, including seven division chiefs and component reps, pressure-tested how AI can speed up planning while keeping humans in charge.
The immediate target: support development of the 2026 Coordinated Campaign Order. "The summit addressed two critical goals: refining our approach to human - machine teaming for the USSPACECOM J35 integrated campaign order and establishing a governance model for the responsible incorporation of artificial intelligence into operational planning," said Genna Ibsen, supervisory program analyst, USSPACECOM J3.
How they ran it
Each joint directorate and component command received five campaign objectives and command guidance, then aligned efforts to produce inputs for the campaign order. Teams compiled procedures, doctrine, references, and manuals so AI tools would operate from accurate source material-then staff verified results. In Ibsen's words: "AI generated, human curated."
Participants were organized into four teams and cycled through three different AI tools. "By design, teams used one AI tool on the first day and then transitioned to a different tool on the second... The two-day approach deepened the AI experience, allowing participants to compare outcomes, refine directives, and unlock richer operational futures aligned with the command's strategy," Ibsen said. "The process ensured that outputs emerging from the summit were not only innovative but also operationally relevant."
Four strategic lenses to stress-test plans
Teams worked through four distinct lenses to expand options and surface tradeoffs:
- USSPACECOM as a supporting command
- USSPACECOM as a supported command
- Multinational collaboration under Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER
- Nexus lens spanning space, cyber, and special operations
"We specifically created four lenses with which to examine our Campaign requirements and generate a high number of options with different perspectives," said Col. John Gibson, USSPACECOM J35 Future Operations. "APEX required the teams to produce a tentative concept of operations and scheme of maneuver that captured required campaigning activities to achieve success through the specific lens."
Gibson noted the "supported command" lens produced the largest set of options for how the Joint Force could back USSPACECOM's mission. "Getting the components, staff members, and AI tools to work in the same room provided us with an interesting perspective and built new relationships," he said. "Everyone walked away with a better appreciation for our operational challenges, while learning more about how to re-imagine collaboration within the command."
Why this matters for operations leaders
The APEX approach translates into practical steps any operations team can apply:
- Set governance up front: define human decision rights, review steps, and escalation paths.
- Curate your sources: consolidate procedures, doctrine, SOPs, and references before you prompt.
- Rotate tools and methods: compare outputs across different models and prompting styles to reduce blind spots.
- Keep humans on the loop: verify outputs, document assumptions, and run counterfactual checks.
- Work cross-functionally in real time: put components, staff, and AI experts in the same room to shorten feedback cycles.
- Tie outputs to orders: require draft CONOPS, sequencing, and decision points-not just analysis.
Part of a broader AI push
Earlier in 2025, USSPACECOM adopted its first AI, machine learning, and data analytics strategy and began applying it to priority mission areas: integrated space fires, C2, modernized EW architecture, battlespace awareness, space systems cyber defense, and sustainment/logistics. "This AI strategy is necessary for our Combatant Command to quickly and effectively adapt to what is emerging as an era-defining technology... We must lead the way in ensuring a safe and secure space domain for our nation, our Allies and Partners, and the rest of the world," said Gen. Stephen Whiting, USSPACECOM commander.
Insights from APEX will feed the 2026 Coordinated Campaign Order as the command refines how AI supports decision-making, planning speed, and mission outcomes. For more on the organization, visit U.S. Space Command, and for context on department-wide adoption, see the DoD's Data, Analytics, and AI Adoption Strategy.
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