The Australian government yesterday launched the Space Command, a new defense agency with echoes of the US’ Space Force that has been tasked with securing the country’s place in an “already contested” cosmos.
Australian Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said the new defense arm would be modest to start with, although he gave no detailed staffing or budget figures.
In a speech to the Australian Air Force, he said that space “will undoubtedly become a domain that takes on greater military significance in this century.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Space is becoming more congested and is already contested, particularly as the boundaries between competition and conflict become increasingly blurred through gray-zone activities,” he said.
Dutton positioned the Space Command as a clear counter to China and Russia’s extraterrestrial military ambitions, condemning the two nations in his speech, along with all “countries that see space as a territory for their taking, rather than one to be shared.”
The Space Command is to be led by Australian Air Vice Marshal Cath Roberts — “a self-professed science fiction buff” — who will oversee a team drawn from across the Australian military, as well as private contractors.
Dutton said that the agency would “initially be modest,” but added that Australia would need “a Space Force in the future” — a nod to the US service that was launched by then-US president Donald Trump in 2019.
The Space Command makes for close collaboration between the US and Australia in yet another domain, coming just months after the two countries signed a new military partnership, AUKUS, along with the UK.
The Australian government has been squarely focused on the military as an election looms, committing earlier this month to increase the country’s defense force to 80,000 troops by 2040.
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