US Space Force expands faster

美太空军加快扩张步伐

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2022-12-02 20:52:33
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sends US Space Force’s third-generation GPS satellite into space. (File Photo)
SpaceX公司的猎鹰9号火箭为美国太空军发射第三代GPS卫星(资料图)。

By Lin Yuan

林源

The US Department of Defense established a Space Force component in the Indo-Pacific Command in November with a plan to set up a similar component within the US Forces Korea, picking up the speed of its space force development. The head of the electromagnetic operation unit of US Space Command said that the global space economy is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2040, and the US military must move faster to occupy the commanding height in that domain considering how space combat capacities will affect future warfare.

11月,美军在夏威夷成立印太总部太空作战司令部,并拟在驻韩美军内新设太空作战司令部,太空军建设明显提速。美国太空司令部电磁作战小组负责人韦斯勒表示,预计到2040年,全球太空经济的总价值将达1万亿美元,考虑到太空作战能力将影响未来战争的结果,美军必须加快占领太空这个“战场制高点”。

However, the problems that come hand in hand with America’s accelerated space force development have been much denounced.

美军太空军建设在不断提速的同时,其面临的问题也屡遭诟病。

First, the development hasn’t proved effective when benchmarked against potential rivals. American media reported that in the past 10 to 15 years, America’s potential rivals like Russia have made much more headway in space capacity enhancement than the US. That’s why the Biden administration has to, under its overall framework of competitive strategy, focus on building space forces, creating environmental security of space, and deepening space alliance.

首先,对标潜在对手,建设效果不佳。美媒报道称,过去10年至15年,俄罗斯等潜在对手在太空能力建设上所取得的进展已超过美国。为此,拜登政府不得不在其总体竞争战略的框架下,将建设太空力量、打造太空环境安全、深化太空联盟等视为重点方向。

Second, the Space Force has unclear duties with other domestic agencies. There are always debates over the roles of the Space Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to official descriptions, NASA is mainly responsible for exploring the solar system and the earth as well as other scientific research, while the Space Force is focused on preserving national security. But in reality, NASA has always been deeply engaged in national defense ever since its founding in 1958, and it overlaps with the Space Force regarding manned spaceflight and space defense technologies as well.

其次,对照国内机构,职责区分不清。美国国内一直对太空军与国家航空航天局的区别存在争论。根据官方表述,美国国家航空航天局主要负责探索太阳系和地球,以及进行其他科学研究,而太空军的重点“业务”是维护国家安全。但实际情况是,美国国家航空航天局自1958年成立以来,一直与国防领域密切相关。而且,在载人航天和太空防御相关技术方面,美国太空军与国家航空航天局也有交集。

Third, the Space Force suffers from uneven allocation of resources compared with other military services. It is learned that most of the satellites of the US military are controlled by the Air Force, which competes with the Space Force for resources in many ways. Moreover, due to historical reasons, the US Army, Navy and Air Force each has their own space unit, resulting in decentralized management and multiple lines of command that have rather restricted the development of space capacity. This remains unchanged after the Space Force was established.

再次,对比其他军种,利益分配不均。据介绍,美军绝大部分卫星都掌握在空军手中,太空军和空军在资源分配问题上存在诸多矛盾。此外,基于历史原因,美国陆、海、空军分别成立了针对太空业务的部门,导致管理分散、政令繁杂,反而制约了太空能力的发展。即便在太空军独立成军后,这一问题仍未解决。

Analysts said the US has sped up its moves of “space militarization” in recent years, taking the space domain as a “commanding height” in major country competition. Two trends are worth special attention.

分析人士指出,近年来美国加速推进“太空军事化”,将太空领域作为大国竞争“制高点”,其两大发展趋势值得关注。

The first is the concentration of space capacities across the US military. Commander of the US Space Command James Dickinson recently said that the Space Command, Cyber Command, and Army Space and Missile Defense Command will work more closely together to integrate their capacities in space, cyberspace and special operations and form a “triad” deterrence against the rivals.

一个是美军内部的太空能力聚合。美国太空司令部司令詹姆斯•迪金森不久前表示,未来美国太空司令部、网络司令部、陆军航天与导弹防御司令部将加强合作,融合太空能力、网络能力、特种作战能力,构建针对对手的“三位一体”影响力威慑布局。

Senior officials of the US Air Force also said space information support capacity will be essential for combined operations across all domains, while military and commercial satellites as well as the ability to build them will be key to the military’s next-generation resilient space system. It’s foreseeable that “cross-service integration” and “military-civilian cooperation” will be the keywords in America’s space capacity development, with the aim of establishing a so-called highly decentralized and resilient space architecture featuring quick replenishment.

美国空军高层也表示,太空信息支援能力将是美军开展联合全域作战行动的必要条件,军用和商用卫星及其构建能力将是美军下一代韧性太空体系架构的关键力量。可以预见,未来美军将在太空建设上强化“军种联合”“军民合作”,以搭建所谓高度分散、强韧、可快速补充的太空架构。

The other is the concentration of space capacities between the US and its allies. To enhance its presence in space, the Japanese Defense Ministry held a flag-awarding ceremony for its newly formed Space Operations Group at Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Fuchu base in the suburbs of Tokyo. The British Defense Ministry recently released a document titled UK Space Power (JDP 0-40), the country’s first independent doctrine publication targeting the space domain.

另一个是美国与盟友的太空能力融合。今年3月,为强化在太空领域的存在,日本防卫省在位于东京都的航空自卫队府中基地为新组建的“太空作战群”举行授旗仪式。近日,英国国防部发布题为《联合条令出版物0-40——英国太空力量》的条令文件,这是英军首份针对太空领域的独立条令文件。

It’s worth noting that these countries looked to the US while forming their own space operation forces or enacting space documents, hoping to enhance their space combat capacities through intensified military cooperation with Big Brother, including strengthening information exchange, coordinating military demand in the space, and conducting joint operations.

值得注意的是,上述国家在成立太空作战力量或颁布太空条令时,不约而同地将目光投向美国,希望通过与美国强化军事合作来提升太空实战能力,具体内容包括加强信息交换、协调军事太空需求、执行联合行动等。

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