9 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial

Pence outlines plan to create U.S. Space Force by 2020

Proposal to create new military service requires approval from Congress

Faced with growing competition and threats from Russia and China, the White House on Thursday said it will create the U.S. Space Force as a sixth, separate military service by 2020.

Vice-President Mike Pence told a Pentagon audience that the plan fulfils President Donald Trump's vow to ensure America's dominance in space — a domain that was once peaceful and uncontested that has now become crowded and adversarial.

"Now the time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our armed forces, to prepare for the next battlefield where America's best and bravest will be called to deter and defeat a new generation of threats to our people, to our nation," said Pence. "The time has come to establish the United States Space Force."

Trump marked Pence's announcement with a tweet.

Trump has called for a "separate but equal" space force, a complicated and expensive move that requires congressional approval. On Thursday, Pence said the administration will work with Congress on the plan and outline a budget next year.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has endorsed steps to reorganize the military's space war-fighting forces and create a new command, but has previously opposed launching an expensive, new service. A new branch of the military would require layers of bureaucracy, military and civilian leaders, uniforms, equipment and an expansive support structure.

Full article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pence-trump-us-space-force-plan-1.4779217

Sur le même sujet

  • New weapons purchases suffer under India’s latest defense budget

    5 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    New weapons purchases suffer under India’s latest defense budget

    By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India's defense budget for 2020-2021 will be $73.65 billion, the country government announced Saturday, but officials and analysts are warning the amount is unlikely to meet new demands for weapons purchases and military modernization, as India is set to spend about 90 percent if its defense funds on existing obligations. Of the total budget, $18.52 billion is for weapons purchases; $32.7 billion is for maintenance of the military's weapons inventory, pay and allowances, infrastructure, and recurring expenses; and $21.91 billion is for defense pensions. “The capital budget leaves no room for any big-ticket weapons purchase, as over 90 percent of the allocation capital funds will [be spent] for past [defense] contracts' committed liabilities," a senior Ministry of Defence official told Defense News. The limited procurement spending is expected to directly impact “Make in India" defense projects, a policy meant to boost the local economy under the ruling National Democratic Alliance government. “This also [leaves] no room for any major weapons purchases from U.S. at least for one to two years,” the MoD official added. India is slated to make a number of purchases through the U.S. Foreign Miltiary Sales program, including 22 MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) drones for $2.6 billion; and additional six P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft for $1 billion; two Gulfstream 550 aircraft for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance for nearly $1 billion; and one unit of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System II for more than $1 billion. During at least the last two years, the Indian military has complained about a lack of funds for resolving existing liabilities. Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisitions at the MoD, said the military will likely continue to face the challenge of preventing defaults on contractual payments. The senior MoD official told Defense News that due to the shortage of funds, at least a dozen pending defense contracts will experience delays. “The current $18.52 billion capital allocation is only [a] marginal increase from [the] previous year [capital] allocation of $18.02 billion [and] does not even adequately cover inflation costs.” The Indian Air Force is to receive $6.76 billion from the 2020-2021 budget, a drop from the previous year's $7.01 billion. The money is expected to go toward payments for orders of Rafale fighters from France and an S-400 missile system from Russia. The Indian Navy is to receive $4.56 billion, which is expected to help cover the cost of leasing a nuclear submarine and stealth frigates from Russia, as well as pay for warships from Indian companies. A Navy official said it is unlikely the service will be able to sign a contract for 24 MH-60R multirole helicopters for more than $2 billion from the U.S. next year. The Indian Army is to receive $5.06 billion to pay cover previous orders of wheeled and ultralight artillery guns, T-90 tanks, and ammunition. India's state-owned defense companies continue to receive 60 percent of defense-related business, with 30 percent going to overseas defense companies and 10 percent to domestic private defense firms. Another MoD official said the armed forces plan to focus on industry-funded defense projects under the government's “Make-II” category, which allows private companies to participate in the prototype development of weapons and platforms with a focus on import substitution, for which no government funding will be provided. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/02/04/new-weapons-purchases-suffer-under-indias-latest-defense-budget

  • Volatus Aerospace Appoints OmniView Tech as its Canadian Distributor

    1 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial

    Volatus Aerospace Appoints OmniView Tech as its Canadian Distributor

    TORONTO, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Volatus Aerospace has appointed OmniView Tech as its exclusive distributor of the FIXAR vertical takeoff and landing…

  • Watch India test its new homemade hypersonic vehicle

    10 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Watch India test its new homemade hypersonic vehicle

    By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India on Monday conducted a successful test of a fully indigenous hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine, the Defence Ministry announced. With the test, India joins the U.S., Russia and China in the race for hypersonic technology development. The flight test took place Sept. 7 around 11 a.m. on an island off the coast of Odisha. The demo vehicle was indigenously developed by the government's Defence Research and Development Organisation, and it has the ability to fly at six times the speed of sound, according to defense scientists here. The ministry said the hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using a solid rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 kilometers. Then the cruise vehicle separated from the launch vehicle and the air intake opened as planned, the ministry added. “The successful demonstration proved several critical technologies including aerodynamic configuration for hypersonic manoeuvers, the use of scramjet propulsion for ignition and sustained combustion at hypersonic flow, thermo-structural characterisation of high-temperature materials, separation mechanism at hypersonic velocities, etc.,” DRDO said in a statement. A top DRDO scientist told Defense News that the vehicle will be used to launch both hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles. "DRDO has spent around $4.5 million on its [HTDV] prototype development cost, and three more tests will be carried out in the next five years to make this platform into a full-fledged hypersonic weapon that is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, "he said. DRDO spent about $30 million on the design and development phases. Congratulating DRDO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “The scramjet engine developed by our scientists helped achieve a speed of 6 times the speed of sound! Very few countries have such capability today.” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the test a “landmark achievement” toward India becoming self-reliant and less dependent on foreign technology. “It's now time to progress to the next phase with all critical technologies being established by the successful [HTDV] flight test, using the indigenously developed scramjet propulsion system,” he added. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/09/09/india-tests-homemade-hypersonic-vehicle

Toutes les nouvelles