U.S. Space Forces Southern (SPACEFOR–SOUTH) is the U.S. Space Force’s regional space component assigned to U.S. Southern Command. It formalizes the Space Force’s role in the Western Hemisphere and is responsible for integrating space power with joint, interagency and multinational partners to support regional security, deterrence and stability across Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Its duties include providing positioning/navigation/timing (PNT), secure satellite communications, and space-domain awareness to aid counter‑illicit trafficking, exercises, partner capacity‑building and crisis response; it became operational Dec. 1, 2025, with Col. Brandon P. Alford as commander and is headquartered at Davis‑Monthan AFB.
SPACEFOR–SOUTH is the Space Force’s component (service/space component) aligned to U.S. Southern Command: it is the Space Force organization that integrates and provides space effects and forces to support SOUTHCOM’s missions. It remains a U.S. Space Force command (organized, trained and equipped by the service) and will coordinate closely with U.S. Space Command and SOUTHCOM to deliver operational space capabilities to the joint force and partner nations.
"Integrating space capabilities" means combining space-based functions (e.g., PNT, satellite communications, missile warning and space‑domain awareness) into planning and operations with land/air/sea forces and partners so those services and partner nations can use space effects in real time—improving targeting and command-and-control, protecting communications and tracking threats across the hemisphere.
SPACEFOR–SOUTH is likely to support missions and capabilities commonly provided by space components: secure satellite communications (SATCOM), positioning/navigation/timing (GPS/PNT), missile‑warning and space‑domain awareness (ISR of space activity), and space‑support to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (space‑enabled ISR) that enable targeting, counter‑illicit trafficking and crisis response.
The activation ceremony was held at Davis‑Monthan AFB because the Air Forces Southern/SOUTHCOM and Space Force leadership chose that location for the formal event; the public announcements state that SPACEFOR–SOUTH is headquartered at Davis‑Monthan AFB (i.e., the command’s HQ will be there).
Officials said the command was activated to formalize and accelerate integration of space as a warfighting domain in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility, strengthen regional security and deterrence, improve interoperability with partners, and better apply space capabilities (PNT, SATCOM, domain awareness) against threats such as malign state actors, violent extremists and transnational criminal organizations; SPACEFOR–SOUTH became operational Dec. 1, 2025 and the ceremony in Jan. 2026 formally recognized that activation.