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IPFS News Link • United States

A 'Violent Clash of Opposing Wills': How the U.S. Is Defining Space Warfare

• https://www.vice.com, By Matthew Gault

On Monday, the U.S. Space Force published Spacepower: Doctrine for Space Forces. The 40 page document outlines what the Space Force will actually do, defines the nature of war in space, and is our clearest window into how the budding Space Force thinks of itself. 

More than just custodians of the cosmos, Space Force foresees war moving into the skies. "Just like warfare in any other domain, space warfare is a violent clash of opposing wills," the document said.

Spacepower: Doctrine for Space Forces is a broad document that captures the majestic bullshit of a new branch of the military that's struggling to justify its existence and is represented by a symbol that appears cribbed from Star Trek. But according to the document it, "represents our Service's first articulation of an independent theory of spacepower."

What, exactly, will Space Force be fighting in space? "The adversary in space warfare is never a spacecraft or some other inanimate system," the document said. "Space warfare targets the mind of an adversary and seeks to neutralize their capability and will to resist."

It's a great line that doesn't mean much. Despite this reference to targeting minds and not spacecraft, the document is full of allusions to violence. "Security, deterrence, and violent competition are the hallmarks of a warfighting force, and military space forces are no different. They shape the security environment, deter aggression, and apply lethal and nonlethal force in, from, and to space."


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