On December 20, 2019, the President of the United States signed an order on the formation of the Space Force, which will combine several existing structures and include new ones. Over the past weeks, the Pentagon managed to carry out some necessary measures in this direction, as well as draw up plans for the future and determine the main features and tasks of the new type of troops.
Goals and plans
On February 5, the Department of the Air Force, while in charge of the activities of the US Space Force (USSF), held another press conference, during which it spoke about the latest actions and achievements. The main news is the completion of the formation of a plan for subsequent work on the transformation of existing structures into a new branch of the military. The relevant documents have been submitted to Congress for study, amendments and then approval.
During a press conference, USSF Deputy Commander Lieutenant General David Thompson revealed the main features of the current plans. He recalled that the main goal of the Space Force is to ensure the superiority of the United States in near-earth space. They must support the operation of ground and orbital systems that solve a wide range of tasks in the interests of all branches of the armed forces.
It is noted that the new branch of the armed forces "is created from scratch", and this gives certain advantages. It is proposed to use new approaches and methods to facilitate construction and achievement of goals. You should also abandon third-party tasks, focusing on your direct responsibilities. According to the Pentagon, it is precisely such measures that will help create a fundamentally new workable structure, uniting both existing and newly formed organizations.
Organization issues
At the moment, the activities of the Space Force are provided by the Ministry of the Air Force. In the foreseeable future, it is planned to form their own organization of this kind, initially aimed at supporting the USSF. After that, the new branch of the military is more similar in structure to the existing ones.
Three directorates will be created within the ministry. The first will deal with logistics and personnel, the second will be responsible for operational activities, and the third will be entrusted with research, development of plans and implementation of promising programs. In the near future, it is planned to determine and approve the candidacies of all three heads of directorates.
For the time being, they are not going to completely refuse from the aid of the Ministry of the Air Force. It may be entrusted with the solution of auxiliary tasks - construction, financial issues, support of communication and control systems, etc. The command wants the Space Forces to be engaged only in their own work and not to dissipate forces on non-core tasks. It is proposed to transfer them to other organizations that already have the necessary capabilities.
The US Air Force Academy will assist the Space Force in training personnel. The corresponding agreement has already been signed. The training of future USSF specialists will begin this year. Also, the forces have created their own training command, similar to that of the Air Force. It was not specified whether he would have his own educational institutions.
Based on the experience of other combat arms, it is proposed to create several new centers for different purposes. They will be engaged in scientific work, reconnaissance, personnel retraining, etc. The formation of such structures will begin in FY2021. The relevant items will be included in the draft defense budget.
The process of forming the organizational and staff structure of the USSF continues and will take some time. The first meeting of the newly created Council for Space Exploration will take place at the end of February. One of the topics of the event will be the improvement of the structure of the Space Forces. It is likely that the Council will amend existing plans or come up with new proposals.
Based on the results of current and future activities, by May 1, the command should submit a complete plan for further actions to the Air Force Ministry. After its approval, a new stage of work starts - the process of creating new organizations and, consequently, the final formation of the desired image of the USSF will begin.
Units and divisions
The formation of the headquarters of the Space Forces continues, and in this context there is a reduction in previously existing plans. Back in December, it was stated that approx. 1,000 military and civilian specialists. The available opportunities so far make it possible to create only 800 jobs.
Already in December last year, it was determined which units and formations would be transferred to the USSF from the subordination of other army structures. The largest component of the new service was the Space Operations Command, the former 14th Army of the Air Force Space Command. The Command itself is located at Vandenberg Air Force Base (California). Subordinate to him are five air wings for various purposes, stationed in different parts of the country.
The 30th and 45th space wings, which are responsible for launching space and ballistic missiles, as well as operating several test sites and spaceports, have been transferred to the USSF. The 21st wing operates ground-based missile attack warning systems. The 460th wing is responsible for the SPRN satellite constellation. The 50th wing controls the rest of the group, which includes systems for various purposes.
The Center for Space and Rocket Systems has become an important part of the USSF. This organization provided support to other structures now included in the Space Force. This work will continue in the future.
Space Force Command is currently considering liaising with the National Guard and the Reserve. A report on such prospects should be prepared by March 19. What measures will be taken in this area is unknown.
Material part
Material purchases, incl. military equipment and weapons for the structures now included in the USSF were previously carried out through several organizations. They were handled by the Center for Space and Rocket Systems, the Space Development Agency and other organizations. This situation does not suit the command, and they plan to change it.
By March 31, a new document should be prepared on the optimization of orders and purchases. USSF will study the current state of affairs and find alternative schemes for solving such problems. As can be judged from the published data, so far there are only the most general proposals without specific steps.
Space bureaucracy
Outer space is of great interest to the leading countries of the world. All of them are conducting new projects of various kinds, incl. capable of threatening the interests of other states. Seeing such processes, the Pentagon has long created developed structures for various purposes - now they are combined into the Space Forces and have the status of a separate branch of the military.
Units from the USSF continue their previous work, although they were transferred to the subordination of the new headquarters. Meanwhile, Space Force Command continues to draw up new plans and carry out existing ones. The restructuring of the received organizations is underway, and new ones are being created. The result of this in a few years will be a fully operational branch of the military.
In fact, at the moment, the activities of the USSF are reduced mainly to solving bureaucratic issues. Operational capabilities do not actually change, since they depend on existing and serving military units. Fundamentally new features and capabilities are not expected yet either.
Thus, while the Cosmic forces remain at the stage of formation and transformation. At the same time, it is now that the foundation is being created for the future development of the US Space Force, which could lead to remarkable, unexpected or even dangerous results. However, at the moment, all real steps are associated only with documents, plans and estimates, but not with the creation of new systems and threats. How long the current plans will be carried out and where they will lead - time will tell.
