Last summer, US President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Defense to work out the issue of creating a space force - a new type of troops designed to solve tasks outside the earth's atmosphere and provide the work of other types of armed forces. In December, the president signed a decree on the creation of a national command of space forces, which was the actual start of work on the creation of new structures. At the moment, the Pentagon is working on various issues and is engaged in the formation of new structures. At the same time, the leadership of the ministry is already ready to disclose part of their plans.
Official statements
Over the past months, various issues related to the creation of space forces have been repeatedly raised at different levels. The latest serious statements on this matter were made recently - on March 20. Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan, during his speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington), revealed basic information about the new type of armed forces.
Communication satellite AEHF
And about. Secretary of Defense recalled that in the past, the United States already had a space command. This structure was formed in 1985, but in 2002 the Northern Command was created on its basis. Now we are talking about the formation of a completely new command, designed to unite a number of existing structures. It will have to protect the economy as a whole and its individual components that depend on space technologies. Space Force Command will become the 11th combat command in the U. S. military.
The space command will operate as part of the Ministry of the Air Force. The creation of a separate ministry directly subordinate to the supreme command was considered inappropriate. The formation of such a structure is particularly difficult and should take a lot of time. By giving space forces to the Air Force, the Pentagon will be able to speed up their formation and save on such processes.
According to current plans, no more than 15-20 thousand people will serve in the new type of armed forces. It is proposed to spend about the same amount on the functioning of the space forces as on the Special Operations Command.
To support the space forces, it is proposed to create a Space Development Agency - "Space Development Agency". This organization will focus on the creation of new technologies and the development of advanced models of space technology. In fact, a promising space constellation will be built on the SDA developments in the future.
According to P. Shanahan, in the coming years SDA will have to solve several main tasks. This organization will have to study the issue of countering hypersonic weapons. It is necessary to find ways to detect, track and defeat him. SDA will also look for alternatives to the GPS satellite navigation system. The army will be able to use such navigation aids in areas without satellite signal access.
The issue of interaction between the space command and civil organizations is being considered. And about. the Minister of Defense recalled that 2500 satellites for various purposes are currently in orbit; they provide communication and remote monitoring. In the next 10 years, only American companies intend to launch 15,000 more spacecraft into orbits.
Thus, in the next decade, a commercially available large system will be formed that can provide observation of the planet. The military should take this into account and prepare to interact with civilian structures. By connecting non-military organizations to work, the Pentagon will be able to expand its capabilities in space.
The deadlines for the formation of new structures were approved earlier and have not yet been revised. The Space Force Command will begin its work in 2020. In the future, most likely, it will take several years to strengthen various groups, create different bodies, etc. It is to be expected that the topic of creating space forces in the future will again rise at the highest level.
Actual opportunities
The existing grouping of spacecraft for various purposes should be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Space Force Command. The existing group is responsible for reconnaissance and surveillance of potentially dangerous areas, is used in the field of communications and navigation, and also solves other tasks. All spacecraft together provide the work of formations and subunits of all armed forces.
According to open data, the orbital group of the US Department of Defense now includes more than 130 spacecraft. More than 40 satellites of several types are used as part of a global communications system that provides data exchange and command and control across the planet. The GPS navigation system uses 31 satellites.
Reconnaissance tasks are solved by more than 40 vehicles. There are 27 electronic intelligence products of six different types. Another 15 devices are conducting radar and optical reconnaissance. Six satellites of two types are responsible for tracking space objects. In the missile attack warning system, 7 vehicles of two types are involved.
WGS communication satellite
The units responsible for the operation of certain Pentagon spacecraft interact with various structures and ensure the operation of all the main components of the armed forces. Communication and navigation satellites play a key role in this. The most difficult can be the interaction of the space command and organizations from the so-called. intelligence community. The new structure will have to operate the equipment needed by several other organizations. However, such issues are already being successfully resolved by the existing formations of the Ministry of Defense.
Modernization in orbits
The greatest questions are raised by the further development of the Space Force Command in the context of expanding the range of tasks to be solved and obtaining new capabilities. In the coming years, having received only the existing space technology, the new troops will only be able to conduct reconnaissance and ensure the work of other types of troops. However, in the future it is possible to master new "specialties". The space forces can be armed with real weapons of one kind or another, as well as various systems of a different nature.
According to acting Defense Minister P. Shanahan, one of the key tasks for the Space Force Command and the Space Research Agency for the coming years will be the organization of protection against hypersonic weapons of a potential enemy. Washington is well aware of the prospects for such strike systems, which, in particular, has already led to the start of several of its own projects. Now, amid reports of overseas advances in hypersonic technology, the United States is seriously concerned about defenses against such threats.
The main methods of countering hypersonic weapons, in principle, are already known. Difficulties in this area are associated with their practical implementation. It is possible to detect a missile system with a hypersonic warhead already at the stage of launch and acceleration by the thermal radiation of the launch vehicle. Similarly, it can be tracked on the trajectory. These tasks can be solved by missile attack warning satellites, but the question remains: will the Space Force Command manage to get by with the existing group or will it be necessary to deploy new means.
Another urgent task is the creation of new navigation systems to supplement the existing GPS in case of its inaccessibility. The technical details of such a project have not been specified. It should be recalled that alternatives to satellite navigation have existed for a long time, but their operating principles are not related to the use of space technology.
Space forces and missile defense
Recently, reports appeared in the foreign press about the imminent start of the development of a new orbital weapon, which, possibly, will enter service with the US space forces. The Missile Defense Agency proposes to include in the draft military budget for the 2020 financial year the study of promising orbital missile defense systems. We are talking about weapons of different classes, primarily space lasers. It is proposed to spend more than $ 300 million on such works in 2020.
To destroy the warheads of enemy ballistic missiles, it is proposed to use lasers or the so-called. beam weapons placed on spacecraft. It is noted that such systems do not belong to weapons of mass destruction, and therefore their development and operation does not violate international agreements on military activities in space. The next few years are planned to be spent on design work, and in 2023, tests of the first prototypes may take place in orbit.
It is argued that the progress of recent years has made it possible to drastically reduce the dimensions of various devices and products. Thanks to this, in the size of the spacecraft, it is possible to create a combat system with sufficiently high characteristics. In addition, such weapons will be reasonably priced. Also, new missile destruction technologies based on other principles are being worked out.
In the foreseeable future, the ABM Agency, in cooperation with other organizations, plans to carry out two research projects. The first goal will be to create a combat missile defense satellite with laser weapons. Within the framework of the second, a similar apparatus will be created with the so-called. beam weapon - it will have to hit targets using a directed neutron flux. Both versions of the missile defense satellite are planned to be tested in orbit using ground-based target missiles.
Two new projects are planned to be launched in the next fiscal year, subject to obtaining the necessary funding. The Pentagon is somewhat optimistic about new ideas, but is still not sure whether it is possible to bring projects to service. In addition, the question of the ownership of such weapons remains unanswered. Its development is initiated by the ABM Agency, but the Space Forces Command also appears in this context in media reports. Who exactly will be responsible for the missile defense apparatus is unclear.
Space echelon SPRN - SBIRS system
However, the US Department of Defense still has enough time to resolve such organizational issues. Work on the new program will start no earlier than the next fiscal year, tests will begin in 2023, and the results suitable for practical application will appear even later. During this time, the Pentagon will have time to resolve all major issues.
A structure for the future
At the moment, the Command of the Space Forces is only being formed, and only next year it will be able to start work. It will include new subdivisions, and a new research organization will be subordinate to it. It is also possible to transfer some existing organizations and parts. In the initial period of its existence, the Command will be subordinate to the existing Ministry of the Air Force.
In the future, space forces are proposed to be developed, including from an organizational point of view. In a few years, the establishment of a special ministry similar to the existing ones, responsible for the activities of other branches of the armed forces, is not ruled out. The formation of new formations and divisions for various purposes is also expected.
The emergence of new structures under the command of the Space Forces Command can be directly related to the progress in the field of defense technology. So, the emergence of new means to combat hypersonic weapons will lead to the need to create parts for its operation. The alternative navigation system will also come under the responsibility of the relevant units. The expected emergence of promising missile defense systems could have the same consequences.
For obvious reasons, the Pentagon is in no hurry to talk in detail about the formation of a new type of troops and only manages with limited data. All this does not yet allow us to draw up a sufficiently detailed picture. The process of forming a new structure within the US Armed Forces has entered an active stage, and this allows us to expect new messages. A few days ago, Acting A. Minister of Defense, and new such statements may be made in the near future.
It should be noted that, despite the orders of the highest level, the US Space Command does not yet exist and will begin work only next year. At the same time, the full-fledged work of all elements of the new type of troops can begin even later. However, Washington is well aware of the importance of space technologies in the military sphere.
Now the American military and political leadership is creating a separate structure capable of solving a number of tasks in outer space and supporting the work of other branches and branches of the armed forces. The real results of such work have not yet appeared, but are expected in the coming years. Later, it will be possible to study the current state of affairs and then draw conclusions about the correctness and appropriateness of decisions made in the recent past. In the meantime, it is worth observing the actions of the United States and waiting for new messages on the development of military space.
