“The United States of America is ready to fight tonight in space if we have to,” said the deputy director of the US Space Command. Image credit: Christopher Dewitt, via Wikimedia Commons.
Brigadier General Jesse Morehouse, deputy director of strategy, plans and police at US Space Command, told reporters at a briefing in London that the US military was prepared for orbital conflict.
“The United States of America is ready to fight tonight in space if we have to,” said Morehouse.
“If someone was to threaten the United States of America, or any of our interests, including those of our allies and partners with whom we have treaties of mutual defence support, we are ready to fight tonight.”
The US Space Command was initially established in 1985 as a centre for military space command and control.
It was disbanded in 2002 and later reintroduced in 2019 under the Trump administration.
The announcement comes as US adversaries Russia and China undertake construction on spacecraft with anti-satellite capabilities, including weapons which can grab, crash into or shoot down satellite targets, and others which aim to jam or disrupt satellite broadcasts.
Colonel Ben Ogden of the US Army explained the strategic importance of satellite technology.
“Space power enables our way of life…It enables us to connect with each other over vast distances and its importance in advances in science and technology cannot be understated,” said Ogden.
However, while the US would seek to advance military capabilities for space combat, they ruled out performing “reckless” and “irresponsible” anti-satellite missile tests.
The missile tests denounced by vice president Kamala Harris in April 2022 on the basis that demonstrations by China and Russia were found to have produced over 1,600 pieces of debris.
Morehouse echoed these sentiments in his own announcement.
“When you create that debris cloud and it lingers on orbit for decades, it’s almost like detonating a nuclear weapon in your own back yard,” Morehouse said. “You pay the price too.”
He went on to say that the US would continue to pursue the development of anti-satellite technologies “without engaging in irresponsible tests” and as a means of deterring conflict further conflict.
“Can you develop a capability that can be used to counter satellites, that works very well, and validate that it works without having to create a debris cloud on orbit every time you do so? Absolutely.”
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