US Space Force step toward militarizing of space

After officially proposing a United States Space Force in June 2018, as the sixth branch of the US military, US President Donald Trump signed into law the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 in August to reestablish the US Space Command, which will later be separated from the US Strategic Command as a fully unified combatant command.

The Trump administration wants to create the Space Force as a separate military command to ensure the US continues to enjoy its military and other strategic advantages over other countries, especially China and Russia, according to three US reports in the past two months.

The US National Intelligence Strategy report, issued last month, says: “Russia and China will continue to pursue a full range of anti-satellite weapons as a means to reduce US military effectiveness and overall security”. This claim was reiterated in the Worldwide Threat Assessment, which says: “China and Russia are training and equipping their military space forces and fielding new anti-satellite weapons to hold US and allied space services at risk”.