Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US military leaders have said American troops must prepare for conflict not only in Earth’s orbit but also in the area around the moon, marking a significant shift in how Washington is looking at space. The remarks came days after the US revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space”. Separately, Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon of the Space Force said the newest military service was preparing for operations in space and around the moon because “humanity is advancing deeper into space – the Space Force’s job is to help be prepared to defend US interests”.
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Speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington on Wednesday, Caine said American forces needed to get ready for a new frontier in warfare. Gagnon, who heads the Space Force’s Combat Forces Command, told reporters the announcement followed Air Force Secretary Troy Meink’s disclosure at the same conference that the US had fielded “on-orbit space control weapons”.
The recent statements by US military officials stand against long-standing conventions and international understandings that outer space should be used only for peaceful purposes and remain non-militarised. While several countries, including the US, have shown they can shoot down satellites in Earth orbit, those demonstrations have been carried out from the ground against their own satellites.
Gagnon said, “the intelligence community has been clear that potential adversaries have been seeking to extend warfare into space” and that the US military needed to respond. “Our potential adversaries such as the PRC are actively pursuing activities in the system, in parts of space,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. China set up its own military space troops in 2024, saying they would strengthen its ability to manage space crises.
Asked about the US announcement on deploying weapons in space, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that “China always upholds the peaceful use of outer space, maintains outer space security and opposes the weaponization, militarization and an arms race in outer space.” Guo also urged the US to “stop expanding its military preparations in outer space”.
It is not clear whether deploying weapons in space, or any possible plan to use them around the moon, would violate international treaties aimed at preventing the militarisation of space. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, signed by both the US and China, says celestial bodies such as the moon are to be used “exclusively for peaceful purposes”, that nuclear weapons cannot be placed in space, and that countries are “liable for damage caused by their space objects”.
There was also a renewed push at the United Nations two years ago to strengthen anti-militarisation measures after US reports that Russia was developing a space-based weapon. Russia vetoed a joint US-Japanese resolution calling on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as already banned under the treaty. A competing Russian resolution to ban all weapons in space “for all time” also failed.
When asked about the 1967 treaty and similar obligations, Gagnon said the US Space Force “will continue to execute safe and responsible space operations in all the reaches of space”. He did not say what the Space Force or the wider US military policy was on the use of weapons such as bullets or projectiles in space, and referred questions to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond.
Gagnon also said the US wanted to double the size of the Space Force over the next five years to about 25,000 service members, with about two-thirds of that growth focused on Combat Forces Command. “We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation,” he said. “The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.” In sum, US military leaders have signalled a broader role for the Space Force as the country prepares for possible conflict in space, even as questions remain over treaties and the limits of military activity beyond Earth.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
