Washington: US President Donald Trump announced the establishment of the US Space Force. The President stated that ‘Space is the world’s new war-fighting domain. Among grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. And we’re leading, but we’re not leading by enough, and very shortly we’ll be leading by a lot.’ The US leadership has indicated setting up the Space Force to counter the challenges Russia and China posed in space as also for future space wars.
On Friday, President Trump signed the ‘2020 National Defense Authorization Act’. The act provides financing for the US defence spending and launching the Space Force. In an event after signing the bill, President Trump announced the establishment of the Force. The Space Force is the newest military service of the US armed forces after 1947 becoming a vital sixth branch. Earlier, the US Armed Forces consisted of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
With the launch Space Force, General Jay Raymond was also announced of being nominated as the commander to the Force. Six US airbases have been selected for the ‘US Space Command’ while the Buckley Airbase in Colorado is set to host the headquarters. The US defence forces are to shortlist 390 military officials, 183 special officials, 827 civilian employees and 50 contractors for the US Space Force, the process for which sources informed was in its final stages.
US Secretary of State Marks Esper was also present during the announcement and elaborated on the objective behind the establishment of the Space Force. ‘The US systems are largely dependent on space capabilities. We have received signs of the space turning into the future battlefield. The Space Force will thus be responsible for maintaining the US dominance in the warfighting domain,’ Esper said.
President Trump had created a sensation last year when he announced the creation of a Space Force. After that, the United States made some expeditious moves to set up the Space Force and Space Command. President Trump had said that it would be a unified combat command to neutralise any threats in space.
President Trump has repeatedly emphasised that Russia and China’s rising activities in space was the main factor behind the creation of a Space Force. On the contrary, both countries have accused the United States of intensifying arms race and threats in space. Russian President Vladimir Putin had recently alleged that ‘The US political and military leaders are openly referring to space as the future battlefield with the demand to initiate military expeditions in space soon.’
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