(9 Aug 2018) Vice President Mike Pence says the time has come to establish a new United States Space Force to ensure America's dominance in space amid heightened completion and threats from China and Russia.
His comments mark the first steps in the administration's plan to create a separate, sixth military service by 2020.
Pence tells a Pentagon audience that while space was once peaceful and uncontested, it is now crowded and adversarial.
"Now the time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our armed forces, to prepare for the next battlefield where America's best and bravest will be called to deter and defeat a new generation of threats to our people, to our nation," said Pence. "The time has come to establish the United States Space Force."
Trump has called for a "separate but equal" space force, a complicated and expensive move that requires congressional approval. On Thursday, Pence said that the administration will work with congress on the plan, and will outline a budget next year.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has endorsed plans to reorganize the military's space war fighting forces and create a new command, but has previously opposed launching an expensive separate new service.
The Pentagon's role in space has been under scrutiny because of a recognition that the United States is increasingly reliant on satellites that are difficult to protect in space. Satellites provide communications, navigation, intelligence and other services vital to the military and the economy.
The U.S. intelligence agencies reported earlier this year that Russia and China are pursuing "nondestructive and destructive" anti-satellite weapons for use during a future war. And there are growing worried about cyberattacks that could target satellite technology, potentially leaving troops in combat without electronic communications or navigation abilities.
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