Trump seeks to create ‘space force’

We must have American dominance in space, US president says

President Donald Trump said Monday that he would direct the Defence Department and the Pentagon to create a new “Space Force” — an independent sixth branch of the armed forces.

Trump has floated this idea before — in March, he said he initially conceived it as a joke — but has offered few details about how the Space Force would operate. Several experts noted that an act of Congress is required to establish a new branch of the military.

Trump said on Monday that the branch would be “separate but equal” from the Air Force and that Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would oversee its creation.

“It is not enough to have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space,” Trump said, adding that he didn’t want to see “China and other countries leading us.”

Dunford’s staff acknowledged Trump’s comments in a statement Monday afternoon, pledging to work closely with Defence Secretary Jim Mattis’ office, other Defence Department officials and Congress to “implement the President’s guidance.”

“Space is a warfighting domain, so it is vital that our military maintains its dominance and competitive advantage in that domain,” the statement said.

And a spokeswoman for Mattis said in a statement that Pentagon officials “understand” the guidance.

“Our Policy Board will begin working on this issue, which has implications for intelligence operations for the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy,” Dana White said without elaborating. “Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders.”

The Outer Space Treaty, which the US signed in 1967, bars states from testing weapons and establishing military bases on the moon and other celestial bodies.