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Australia will follow America’s lead in creating a ‘Space Force’ to protect critical satellites from the threat of authoritarian powers like Russia and China.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton announced details of the new military branch known as the Defence Space Command in a speech to the Royal Australian Air Force air and space power conference on Tuesday.
‘We know that some countries are developing capabilities to threaten or degrade space networks, to target satellites, and to destroy space systems,’ he said.
‘Countries that see space as a territory for their taking, rather than one to be shared.
‘For any nation, losing access to space would have significant civil and military consequences. It is a domain which must be used to deter aggression, rather than become a new realm for conflict.’
In a speech to the Royal Australian Air Force air and space power conference on Tuesday, Peter Dutton (pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison) announced details of the new military branch known as the Defence Space Command
Australia is set to follow America’s lead in creating a ‘Space Force’ to protect critical satellites from the threat of authoritarian powers like Russia and China. Pictured: US Space Force logo
One of the triggers for the move was Russia’s anti-satellite missile test in November last year.
The frightening weapon blasted a redundant Soviet-era intelligence satellite to pieces leaving about 1,500 pieces of debris cannoning around the planet ‘that could take decades to clear’, Mr Dutton said.
NASA and the Biden Administration labelled the botched missile test on the Kosmos 1408 ‘unconscionable’ and said the weapon was a threat to space exploration and scientific discovery.
Mr Dutton said that creating a military presence in the ‘new realm for conflict’ is a ‘necessary endeavor’ as the final frontier was increasingly crowded with more that 7,500 satellites now orbiting the globe.
‘Space is becoming more congested and is already contested – particularly as the boundaries between competition and conflict become increasingly blurred through grey-zone activities,’ he said.
Donald Trump announced in 2018 he was directing the Pentagon to launch a ‘Space Force’
When former President Donald Trump announced the launch of the US Space Force in 2018, the move was initially met with skepticism and ridicule – even spawning a spoof comedy series on Netflix starring Steve Carell.
Claims the new military branch’s logo was directly a copied from Star Trek also added to the derision.
But several years on, the need to counter the rising aggression of authoritarian powers in space is viewed much differently.
Last year the British Government also confirmed the launch of the UK Space Command to protect key satellite assets.
When former President Donald Trump announced the launch of the US Space Force in 2018, the move was initially met with skepticism and even ridicule – even spawning a spoof comedy series on Netflix starring Steve Carell. Pictured: Earth seen from the moon
Pictured: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the U.S. Space Force’s fifth third-generation navigation satellite for he Global Positioning System launched from a pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Mr Dutton said Australia’s military branch in the stars will initially be ‘modest’ compared to other nations, but more investment and technical support from allies was coming.
‘The Australian Department of Defence and the US National Reconnaissance Office have committed to a broad range of cooperative satellite activities which will expand Australia’s space knowledge and capabilities,’ he said.
‘Australia will also invest in new military space capabilities to counter threats, to assure our continued access to space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and to uphold the free use of space.’
Source: DailyMail
