Trump signs military budget to create controversial Space Force
US President Donald Trump has signed the annual military budget bill, allocating funds for a controversial Space Force that could one day become a separate military branch on an equal footing to the US army and navy.
Trump on Friday signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that includes Space Force. Trump wants to create a space force to protect satellites, tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit.
“With my signature today, you will witness the birth of the Space Force," Trump said, warning that there was "going to be a lot of things happening in space."
At Friday’s ceremony, Trump officially announced that he would nominate General John Raymond to be the chief of space operations.
US Air Force General Raymond is currently the commander of US Space Command.
Trump expressed the idea of creating the US Space Force in 2018, warning about the growing military capabilities in outer space of both China and Russia.
He claimed the move to create US Space Force was necessary to counter the country's vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit.
"The dangers to our country constantly evolve and so must we," he said, adding, "Our adversaries are weaponizing earth's orbits with new technology targeting American satellites that are critical to both battlefield operations and our way of life at home,” he said.
"Our freedom to operate in space is also essential to detecting and destroying any missile launched against the United States," he added.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters on Friday that "reliance on space-based capabilities has grown dramatically, and today outer space has evolved into a warfighting domain of its own.
Esper pointed out that the US Space Force's mission will be to maintain US dominance in space.
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