WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Defense Department launched a Space Command to focus more on the threats posed in space, especially from Russia and China.
Speaking at a White House ceremony establishing the U.S. Space Command Thursday, President Donald Trump said it will defend America's vital interests in 'the next war-fighting domain'. He warned that it is going to be a whole different ballgame for 'those who wish to harm the United States, to challenge us in the ultimate high ground of space'.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed documents formally establishing U.S. Space Command as the nation's 11th combatant command.
'The command integrates the space capabilities of all (defense) services in maintaining the U.S. edge in space in an area of great power competition,' the Pentagon said.
Gen John W Raymond, who led space operations in the U.S. Air Force for the past 35 years, is the commander of the U.S. Space Command.
He will act in dual-role as Commander of the U.S. Space Command and Commander of the Air Force Space Command.
Trump said that the establishment of the 11th Combatant Command is a landmark moment - one that recognizes the centrality of space to America's national security and defense.
'SPACECOM will ensure that America's dominance in space is never questioned and never threatened, because we know the best way to prevent conflict is to prepare for victory'.
Each of the US military's combatant commands has an area of responsibility, from CENTCOM, which oversees military mission in the Middle East, to CYBERCOM, which was established last year to protect Americans from the most advanced cyber threats and to create powerful offensive threats.
Trump announced plans for the creation of a Space Force as the sixth branch of the US military, the first since the creation of Air Force in 1947.
'Establishing the United States Space Command as a unified combatant command is the next critical step towards the creation of an independent Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,' said the Defense Secretary.
In a speech at the Pentagon last year about U.S. adversaries making space a war-fighting domain, Vice President Mike Pence had cited China launching a missile that tracked and destroyed one of its own satellites in 2007, and Russia working on an airborne laser to disrupt space-based systems.
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