If we say which of the "big news" in the military field the United States has attracted the most attention this year, the establishment of the "Space Force" can definitely rank up to the number one. Recently, US Vice President Pence and Defense Secretary Mattis attended a meeting at the Pentagon to introduce the planning of the Space Force. According to Pence's report, the Space Force will integrate the departments currently scattered in the various branches of the US military, and will establish a series of institutions including command departments, development departments, and combat forces to ensure U.S. space security, deter malicious behavior, and provide support to allies. The new Space Force will have a four-star admiral as its supreme commander, which means that the Space Force will have the same status as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. At present, the plan to prepare for the Space Force has received support from the U.S. Department of Defense, which means that there are no significant obstacles to the formation of the Space Force at the administrative level.
In fact, the "Space Force" is not only the "big news" of the United States, but also a hot topic of concern to Chinese military fans, and a little turmoil between the two major powers of China and the United States will cause unlimited reverie and bold speculation among military fans, and the most effective way to resolve the speculation of military fans is actually authoritative military experts to give answers and make scientific analysis. At the 2018 China Military Fan Forum held at the end of October in Gubei Water Town, it will focus on the complex situation around China and the trend of the Sino-US game. In response to the Space Force advocated by Trump, military experts have given some views.
U.S. Vice President Pence Announces Formation of a "Space Force" at the Pentagon
The discussion of the "Space Force" in the US military stems from an executive order of US President Trump. On June 18, Trump signed an order directing the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare for the establishment of a new independent service, the Space Force, and announced the order in the National Space Council, NASA's parent agency. The U.S. military, especially the U.S. Air Force, reacted strongly to the order. U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Goldfei made it clear that the creation of an independent Space Force would "steer the U.S. military in the wrong direction," while House member Turner claimed that it was "not clear what the Space Force was going to do." The fact that the head of state ordered the preparation of the space force but encountered resistance within the army is quite reminiscent of the plot of the famous animation director Hideaki Anno's pioneering work "Wang Li Cosmic Army".
There is no consensus within the U.S. military on the formation of a space force
However, compared with the Onemis Empire Cosmic Army in "Wang Li Cosmic Army", which even stumbled on sending people to the universe, the "Sky Army" that Trump plans to build really does not know how many grades higher. Although the Space Force is still a thing that has not even been skimmed, the current scale of the space force in the US military is already very strong. In the mid-1980s, during the Star Wars program, the three U.S. services established their own Space Commands to oversee space missions within the services. In 1993, the U.S. military formed the Joint Space Command, and in 2002, the Joint Space Command was merged into the Strategic Command. It can be said that although the CURRENT US space forces are scattered in various branches of the armed forces, the "space force" with a unified command structure has already taken shape.
The X-37B is the responsibility of the U.S. Air Force and will be allocated to the Space Force in the future
At present, the US military's space force is mainly controlled by the Air Force. The U.S. Air Force's 14th Air Force is the main unit for space combat missions, and the 614th Air and Space Operations Center under this division is the "heart" unit of the U.S. Military's space operations. In addition, the space force of the United States Air Force also includes the 30th Wing and the 45th Wing responsible for space launch missions, the 21st Wing responsible for space early warning systems and land-based anti-missile systems, the 50th Wing responsible for satellite monitoring systems, and the 460th Wing responsible for space-based missile systems. The above-mentioned units have a clear division of labor, and the scope of their tasks covers space combat command, space launch, satellite system control and control, and anti-missile and early warning, which can be said to have laid a solid foundation for the establishment of the space force.
In addition to the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army and Navy also have their own space forces. The U.S. Army's 1st Space Brigade is the Army's largest military space unit, primarily responsible for satellite control and communications missions related to U.S. Army combat operations. The U.S. Navy is primarily tasked with space-related missions by Task Force 1010 of Fleet Cyber Command (commonly known as the Tenth Fleet). Although the space forces of the U.S. Army and Navy are not large, the level of construction is not low, and it is indeed feasible to integrate and establish a unified Space Force on its basis.
There is no doubt that Trump is eager to establish the Space Force, the purpose is to integrate the US military's space forces currently scattered in various services, to achieve the overall planning of military space missions, reduce the efficiency of military space operations caused by the friction between the services, and also enhance the Control Capability of the Department of Defense over military space operations. In fact, in the US government and military circles, the call for the establishment of a space force has not been the first time. As early as the beginning of this century, the U.S. Military Reform Committee proposed the idea of establishing a unified space force, but eventually the flag was put down. In 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives also proposed the establishment of a space force controlled by the Air Force but with independent command and management authority, but it was strongly opposed by the US Air Force and eventually failed. Even Trump himself has repeatedly claimed that he will promote the construction of the "Space Force", but there have always been few peacemakers. It can be said that on the question of whether to establish a space force, the attitude of the US government and the military is diametrically opposed, which is also the reason why the "US Space Force" has been difficult to produce so far.
From the perspective of mission attributes, the RESISTANCE of the US military to the establishment of the Space Force is not without a beginning. Although the United States does not recognize the demilitarization of space, according to the current level of technology, the tasks that can be carried out after the establishment of the Space Force are indeed not many. Although the United States is second to none in the world in space technology, it does not have the ability to deploy weapons and equipment in outer space. In other words, even if the US military can establish a space force, it can basically only undertake tasks such as space launch, satellite command, space-related communications, and engineering, but it is difficult to do much in the field of direct combat. Therefore, although the "Space Force" that Trump has called for will nominally become an independent service, it does not actually have the ability to stand alone, and is still essentially just a supportive force. This organizational change of changing soups without changing medicines has been opposed by some people in the US military, and it is also understandable.
The formation of the Space Force will inevitably lead to the militarization of space
Guided by the Chinese Military Culture Research Association and sponsored by Huayu Think Tank and CYTS Joint Branch, the "2018 China Military Fan Forum" will be held in Gubei Water Town, Beijing from October 27 to 28. This forum will be a grand gathering of Chinese military fans, at the forum site you can talk with military experts about ancient and modern military, exchange ideas with Internet celebrities, and a number of generals will unveil the international military for you and discuss China's dream of a strong army. If you are concerned about national defense and love the military, please click "Read the original article" to register.