Happy Nice Mall

JOURNALIST INTERVIEW:

Chinese threatening to pass US military aspect most dominant force in space, says now 3-year-old second-in-command US Space Forcewho warns Washington If it wants to maintain its dominance over the futuristic battlefield, it must significantly accelerate the release of critical new technologies.

Good news, said the Vice President of Space Operations, Org. David ThompsonThe Pentagon’s newest branch shows promise in accelerating the distribution of key assets to counter it. ChineseIts rapidly evolving capabilities, including its increased ability to attack US satellites.

Gene. Thompson He presented the assessment in an extensive exclusive interview with The Washington Times this week. he downplayed the political divide in Congress over space forceCreated by President Trump in 2019.

The newly minted service is generally supported by Republicans but continues to receive harsh criticism from Democrats. Some sections on the left accuse the old administration of using it. Force To promote the “militarization” of space, Gen. Thompson He brushed aside the heated politics surrounding the first branch to be added to the US armed forces since the Air Force more than 70 years ago.

Speaking to The Times, the general said, “In the environment we are in, in the politically charged environment we are in,” he said, “I don’t think it’s an issue where you can’t find different opinions, strong beliefs. and polarization.”

Some Democrats want the law repealed. space force.

Gene. Thompson said he and others leading the service focus on the task at hand, not laser-focused politics. he He stressed that the next ten years will be critical. Chinese and other enemies have increasingly effective space abilities.

“Since 2007, potential enemies, especially the Chinese and Russians, have realized how effectively we use space in military operations and have begun to develop and build weapon systems that take these capabilities away from us.” Thompson said.

the coming years, he It will determine whether the US maintains the dominance it previously built. Chinesefluctuation in ability.

“History will judge what we do now,” Gen. Thompson said. “While this has always been the case,” it is especially true “at this moment in time, given the enormity of those entrusted to us by our nation and its leaders.”

“We’re talking about the decade of the 20s here. “This is a period of anxiety for making big strides in space,” he said.

‘They are watching what we do’

According to a recent US Air Force report, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is building and deploying a range of space warfare vehicles, including anti-satellite missiles and cyberweapons, designed to control space and dominate Earth.

The report by the China Institute of Aeronautics and Space Studies, part of the Air University, the US Air Force’s professional military training university system, was also blamed. Chinese Especially from an anti-satellite missile test in 2007, as it emitted large amounts of space debris. The test destroyed a weather satellite and left behind more than 3,400 floating space debris that will threaten satellites and manned spacecraft for years, the report said.

“Chinesemilitary designated space as a battleground – described as ‘a new command height of war’ – Chinese He must fight and conquer to win future wars,” he said. “People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and analysts claim that space is the ultimate high ground, and whoever controls space controls Earth.”

Others in the national security community have also issued similar warnings, claiming that: Chinese made rapid advances in space, quickly rivaling US capabilities. Beijing’s program has grown in scope and sophistication in recent years.

The most recent Defense Intelligence Agency report on China’s military strength warned that “the PKK’s Strategic Support Force (SSF), established in December 2015, has an important role in the management of military forces.” Chineseaerospace combat capabilities.”

“Combining PLA’s space, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in the SSF enables inter-domain synergies at ‘strategic frontiers’,” the 2019 report said. “The SSF may also be responsible for researching, developing, testing and fielding certain ‘new concept’ weapons such as directed energy and kinetic energy weapons.”

Gene. Thompson told The Times Chinese‘s space operations are increasingly mimicking those of the United States. “They watch what we do in space and they copy it” he said.

The number of satellites controlled by the PLA is growing from a tight concentration, often hovering over the Western Pacific.

“Most of what’s going on out there in the Western Pacific, the constellation is expanding, [operations], finally, globally,” said Gen. Thompson.

he said Chinese He has already developed “an enormous and excellent ability to look from space to see, to hear, to track and defend.”

Most importantly, said the general, ChineseThe timeline for developing and deploying ‘s new space capabilities is getting shorter. In essence, Beijing is approaching the ability to deploy new space systems in about half the time it takes the United States to acquire and deploy its systems.

“Not only are they capable of adopting new technology and updated capabilities much faster, if they’re nearly as good as we are today – and nearly as good as we are – they can deploy these things very quickly. [and] they are getting better than us” he said.

emerging technologies

The main difficulty encountered space force, Gen. Thompson He said there is a need to significantly reduce the time it takes for the United States to deploy new capabilities.

From the very beginning, space force emphasized the rapid spread of new technologies to the field. In 2019, the Pentagon established the Space Rapid Capabilities Office to build capabilities that were never used in the field over extremely busy timelines.

Goal, said Gen. Thompsonhas been to produce two to three year turnarounds for advanced space technologies rather than what has become a standard six to seven year timeline.

In February, space force commissioned a Space Development Agency to upgrade space-oriented US military systems with a similar emphasis on faster turnaround times.

Gene. Thompson said. “We’ve put some processes and organizations in place to do this, and they’re showing the ability to do that early on.”

NS space force experiencing success, he despite working with a bare force of roughly 6,400 uniformed members and about 6,000 civilians known as the guards. NS space force With close to 185,000 uniformed members, it is by far the smallest service after the Marine Corps.

Despite early success, Gen. Thompson said, space force He still has to show that he can deliver.

The service came under new scrutiny on Capitol Hill this week after the release of The Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index. US Military Strength, which claims to be space force It does not have the capacity to meet current or future “on-demand, operational and tactical-live combat fighter requirements” set by other services.

heritage report, space force a “weak” score, ranking second to lowest on the index for capacity, ability, and readiness.

Meanwhile, the Democrats continued to be critical for ideological reasons.

Last month, California’s Representative Jared Huffman and three other Democrats passed the “No to the Militarization of Space Act,” which would repeal the law. space force purely as a change to the House version of the annual defense policy bill.

“The longstanding neutrality of space has fostered an era of competitive, non-military exploration that every nation and generation has valued since the early days of space travel,” Mr.

“Since it was founded under the former Trump administration, space force “It has threatened long-standing peace and has blatantly wasted billions of taxpayers’ dollars.”

The measure was unsuccessful, but pointed to ongoing skepticism against the law among lawmakers. space force.

Gene. Thompson‘s comments to The Times show that the need to strengthen American space capabilities is becoming more urgent with increasing competition. Chinese.

The general’s words coincide with the tension between them. Washington and Beijing is done ChineseA record number of incendiary sorties are deployed in Taiwan’s airspace this month, raising fears of direct conflict Chinese It may be closer than imagined.

Given the separate and increasingly rapid development of space capabilities, including attack capabilities to attack US satellites, Chinese he may be preparing for such a conflict that will begin in space rather than in a more conventional realm, Gen. Thompson said.

“We firmly believe that if crisis and conflict are coming, the Chinese thinking will initiate this conflict in space,” the general said.

• Guy Taylor and Bill Gertz contributed to this report.