Space Force labelled ‘dumb idea’

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration yesterday announced an ambitious plan to usher in a new ‘‘Space Force’’ as the sixth branch of the military by 2020, but the proposal was scorned by opponents and may struggle to get liftoff in a divided Congress.

Trump has strongly championed the idea of creating a spacefocused military service with the same stature as the Air Force and the Army, turning his dreams of a ‘‘Space Force’’ into a rallying cry for supporters at political events.

His 2020 reelection campaign sent a fundraising email asking supporters to vote on their favorite Space Force logo for future Trump campaign merchandise, offering a choice of six.

US vicepresident Mike Pence said at the Pentagon the Space Force as ‘‘an idea whose time has come.’’

‘‘America will always seek peace in space, as on the Earth. But history proves that peace only comes through strength, and in the realm of outer space, the United States Space Force will be that strength in the years ahead,’’ Pence said. He said Congress must act to establish and fund the department.

Trump tweeted: ‘‘Space Force all the way!‘‘

The Space Force would be responsible for a range of crucial spacebased US military capabilities, which include everything from satellites enabling the Global Positioning System (GPS) to sensors that help track missile launches.

But critics view its creation as an unnecessary and expensive bureaucratic endeavour, a vanity project that simply strips away work already being done effectively by services such as the Air Force.

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, who is on the Defence Appropriations subcommittee, said the Space Force was a ‘‘dumb idea.’’

‘‘Although ’Space Force’ won’t happen, it’s dangerous to have a leader who cannot be talked out of crazy ideas,’’ Schatz said on Twitter.

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson has said such a move would ‘‘rip the Air Force apart.’’ Senator Bernie Sanders said via Twitter ‘‘maybe, just maybe’’ the Government should guarantee healthcare ‘‘before we start spending billions to militarise outer space.’’

However, although Pentagon leaders, including US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, once opposed the idea of a Space Force, they lined up yesterday to offer their support.

A Pentagon report released yesterday included interim steps towards the creation of such an organisation. A unified combatant command known as the US Space Command would be formed by the end of this year, according to a copy reviewed by Reuters.

In a nod to the Air Force’s current role, the Pentagon report recommended the Space Command be led initially by the commander of Air Force Space Command, who would wear two hats.

One of the arguments in favour of devoting more resources to a Space Force or Space Command is that American rivals like Russia and China appear increasingly ready to strike US spacebased capabilities in the event of a conflict.

‘‘It is becoming a contested warfighting domain and we have to adapt to that reality,’’ Mattis said. — Reuters

❛ Space Force all

the way! tweet from US President

Donald Trump