A split in the US Space Force: the Pentagon can not decide whether to monitor the circumlunar space or operations on Earth
British naval historian and geostrategist Sir Julian Corbett believed that the Navy, fighting at sea, should look to the coast, because it is there that the outcome of all confrontations is ultimately decided. For him, maritime dominance was a necessary but not sufficient condition for strategic and political success.
A similar opinion is shared today by some representatives of the Pentagon. Only in this case we are talking about space, writes 19fortyfive.
For example, according to the material, Frank Calvelli, head of the procurement department of the US Space Forces, believes that this type of troops should devote itself to supporting military operations on the ground.
At the same time, other Pentagon officials believe that the Space Force should focus exclusively on the study of the circumlunar space, together with NASA.
As a result, according to 19fortyfive, there has been a split in the American military community.
Some seem intent on refocusing on circumlunar space, while more traditional officers and officials, including Calvelly, like Corbett, are urging the US Space Force to focus on orbital operations conducted jointly with the Air Force, Army, fleet and the Marine Corps, the material says.
The authors of the article recall that something similar happened in the US Air Force, when the dispute was over the best strategy: massive bombardments of enemy strategic and infrastructure facilities or pinpoint strikes by fighter and assault aviation directly on the battlefield.
However, according to experts, the split in the US Space Force may be more pronounced and have more serious consequences. Indeed, if in the Air Force operations are carried out in the "same sky", albeit at different heights, then the above-mentioned "space concepts" affect diametrically opposite areas.
The authors explain that orbital operations in support of the armed forces are completely turned to the surface of the Earth. At the same time, what Calvelli's opponents propose can be considered a separate area altogether. After all, according to experts, the circumlunar space is about 1700 times larger than that controlled by the US Space Force to support ground operations. Much more money and effort is needed to study it.
- Vasily Volkov
- pixabay.com
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