CCTV News:"Carry the space army to the end!" A tweet from US President Trump on August 9 made the outside world once again focus on the militarization of space. Just a few hours before this tweet was sent out, the US government announced that it would form the sixth service of the US armed forces by 2020 — — Space army.
High-profile vice president’s speech, the president pushed for the space army to "wave the flag and shout"
Host of CBS USA: "The White House and the Pentagon took the first step towards establishing the sixth service of the US military and the space army. The Vice President delivered a speech and the Commander-in-Chief also tweeted ‘ Carry out the space army to the end ’ 。”
Burns: The time has come to form a space army.
On the morning of August 9, local time, US Vice President Burns came to the Pentagon. The purpose of his trip was to announce the specific plan and timetable for the formation of the space army in the United States.
Us vice president burnsNow, in order to prepare for the next battlefield, it is time to write a new great chapter in the history of the American armed forces. The United States will summon the best and bravest fighters to shock and defeat the new generation of threats we face, and the time has come to form a space army. "
On the same day, Burns officially announced that the United States will form a space army by 2020.
What exactly is a space army? To put it simply, the establishment of the Space Force means that the American armed forces have an independent service again after more than 70 years.
The last time the United States formed a new service was in 1947 when the Air Force was established.
At present, the US armed forces include five major services — — That is, the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard and air force. Among them, the first four services were established in the 18th century, and the last new service was established in 1947 — — This year, the US Air Force was formally established. For many years after that, the concept of "the army in space" appeared more and more in Hollywood film and television works: for example, in 1997, the "mobile infantry" in starship troopers.
Trump first publicly mentioned considering the establishment of a space army in March.
Eleven years back, the "Space Marines" appeared in the work Alien 2 by the great director James Cameron. Further, george lucas’s "Star Wars" series came out, and the classic image "Storm Soldiers" was born. The U.S. government’s high-profile announcement of the formation of a space army is the biggest promoter of President Trump himself.
US President Trump"Space, like land, sky and ocean, is a combat space. We may set up a space army as another independent service. We have an air force now and a space army in the future."
Trump White House named the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to set up a space army.
In March of this year, when Trump visited a military base in California, he first showed his willingness to form a space army in public. Just three months later, Trump asked Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to start studying related matters at the White House.
US President Trump: "Here, I ask the Department of Defense to immediately start the necessary work to form a space army as the sixth largest service of the US armed forces. This is great news. We will have both air force and space force, different services but equal status. This is extremely important, General Dunford. I would be honored if you could undertake this task. Where is General Dunford? General, let’s act! "
Russian media: the formation of the space army in the United States has become a hot topic in the global network
The great enthusiasm of the president of the United States for the space army seems to have infected netizens all over the world.
Russian TV reporter today: "Trump’s formation of a space army has inspired the unlimited imagination of netizens. Many people joked that Trump will become ‘ Guardians of the Galaxy ’ A member, or will he train an army composed of power rangers or storm soldiers to emit lasers in the face of alien threats? "
So, why did the United States choose to propose the formation of a space army now?
Us vice president burns"The once peaceful and uncontested space is now crowded and hostile, and other countries are trying to disrupt the system deployed by the United States in space and challenge the absolute superiority of the United States."
US media: The US military has the ability to hunt satellites by relying on more than 140 satellite opponents.
CBS reported that at present, the US military operates about 140 satellites, whose functions range from providing communication signals to guiding weapons to attack targets, and it is increasingly dependent on space. On the other hand, the United States believes that its competitors have developed weapons that can kill satellites, enough to disable them.
In fact, the US military now has a space command under the jurisdiction of the Air Force. Founded in 1982, the headquarters is located in Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, with more than 30,000 personnel. Its main responsibilities are the launch of US military satellites and early warning of ballistic missiles. But obviously, in the Trump administration’s view, such a configuration is far from enough to ensure the superiority of the United States in space.
Will the Space Force be operational in two years? According to the provisions of American law, the formation of an independent new service will eventually require the approval of Congress. Therefore, it is still unknown whether the Space Force can be formed before 2020 as Trump wishes. However, according to US media reports, many members of Congress believe that it is costly to set up a new service specifically for space, so they are opposed to the concept of space army.
Todd Harrison, an American military expert"Even if Congress makes a decision today, it will take several years. First of all, Congress must decide how to operate. When Congress makes a decision, it needs to be implemented in detail. I think it will take at least five or even ten years to establish a new space force. "
Will "Star Wars" really become a reality? Experts say that we can’t see such a scene in a short time.
Todd Harrison, an American military expert: "War in space will not be like Star Wars, nothing ‘ Space Marine Corps ’ It won’t be like that. There will be no military personnel fighting in space. They are all remote-controlled and unmanned satellites. The space military projects in the United States have always been unmanned. The projects that some people in the United States have entered space are all civilian, and they are all carried out through NASA. "
Will the world become more dangerous because of this? According to Russian TV today, in 2009, 2011 and 2014, the United States abstained or voted against the ban on militarization of space three times. Will the contradiction between the United States and Russia further intensify? According to the US Political News Network reported on the 7th, when meeting with Trump in Helsinki, Finland on July 16th, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the United States not to deploy weapons in space. The US media believes that Putin’s face-to-face warning is a move against the United States to form a space army.