Research Activities

24 November 2018
Commentary

The Importance of a Space Force
Harini Madhusu

Geo Politics, October 2018

 

In March 2018, President Donald Trump proposed the United States Space Force (USSF) as the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces and in August 2018 Vice President Mike Pence announced the plan to establish the Space Force by 2020. Its primary intention is to hold control over the US’ military operations in Outer Space by absorbing the command operations and duties of the Air Force Space Command. Currently, the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) handles most of US’s military operations in Space along with the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) which is a unified command that supports US military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellites, cyber and launch operations. 

 The Air Force Space Command was established in 1982 with three primary mission areas: Space forces support, Space control and force enhancement with a goal to “provide resilient and affordable space and cyber space capabilities for the joint force and the nation.” What is the relevance of a separate space force today? What can other space-faring nations take away from this announcement? What can India learn from this?

In the case of India, the armed forces have been considering the establishment of an aerospace command for over a decade now. In the year 2003, the then IAF chief Air Marshall S Krishnaswamy has expressed the need for such a command.  In 2006, IAF established the Directorate of Aerospace, visualised with a separate command on navigation, communications and surveillance as major functionalities. However, this did not articulate due to the government’s strategic concerns. Fast forward 2008, after China had tested its ASAT, defence minister A K Antony announced the setting up of an Integrated Space Cell after recognising the emerging threats to assets and security from the counter space systems. However, there still remains a lot of unexplored threats in space and countries are advancing with their outer space missions at a very fast pace.

 

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Geo Politics, October 2018