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SPACE FORCE: There will be an honor guard on hand to greet Vice President Mike Pence as he arrives at the Pentagon this morning to formally start the countdown for President Trump’s plan to launch a sixth and separate service in the U.S. military known as Space Force. He’ll be welcomed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who in the past opposed a separate Space Corps that would be under the Air Force, but who said this week. “We are in complete alignment with the president’s concern about protecting our assets in space.” The Pentagon is also expected to release a congressionally-mandated report on its recommendations for how to address space as a developing warfighting domain, which Defense One reported last week proposes to stand up a joint services combatant command for space the same way it has for cyber operations. Pence’s remarks are set for around 11:15 a.m., and will be streamed live on the Pentagon website. THE SPACE FORCE MISSION: Whatever form the final organization takes, a separate branch of the military, or a corps that’s part of the Air Force, or a joint unified command, the mission will be basically defensive. The U.S. military has more than 100 satellites, 77 operated by the Air Force and 12 by the Navy. Of those, 31 are global positioning system satellites which are operated by the Air Force from the Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition, the Air Force, which has the responsibility of most of the military space assets, also controls weather satellites and communication satellites, including secure communication, so that the president and U.S. commanders can be in touch with his forces anywhere in the world. “Satellites are really pretty fragile things,” noted Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson at a forum sponsored by the Washington Post last month. “We have to think now about, how do we defend a constellation?” Both China and Russia have shown a capability to attack assets in space. “The Chinese demonstrated the ability to launch a rocket — think of launch[ing] a telephone pole — and hit an object in low-Earth orbit and destroy it. That was a pretty significant demonstration,” Wilson said. “And TASS, the Russian news agency last summer, said the Russians were launching the ability to repair their satellites on orbit. Well, if they can repair their own, they could also interfere.” So while the notion of Space Force evokes Hollywood-style depictions of future battles in space, the primary mission will be more down to Earth. Still, when asked last month if it’s possible America’s adversaries have already put weapons in space, Wilson replied, “I believe that’s possible.” ‘STAR WARS’ REDUX? And at a session at yesterday’s Space and Missile Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Mike Griffin, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for research and engineering revived Ronald Reagan’s dream of a missile shield in space, which in the 1980s was derisively dismissed as “Star Wars.” Griffin told reporters that space-based missile defenses are technically feasible and reasonably affordable, that putting both sensors and shooters in space is not only possible but “relatively easy,” according to a report in Breaking Defense. Specifically, Griffin told reporters, the U.S. “absolutely” needs space-based sensors to detect low-flying hypersonic cruise missiles, and probably needs space-based interceptors to shoot down high-flying ballistic missiles during the boost phase, the period before the warheads separate from the rocket,” according to the report. Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten). David Brown is out this week. Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense. |
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HAPPENING TODAY, NEW RUSSIA SANCTIONS: The United States will be imposing new sanctions against Russia in retaliation for an alleged attempt to kill a former spy and his daughter in Britain earlier this year. The sanctions are being levied under what’s known as the “Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act,” after a finding that the government of the Russian Federation has used chemical or biological weapons against international law. Britain and the United States accused Russia of using the deadly nerve agent Novichok to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. Both eventually recovered. The decision restricts access to U.S. government financing and foreign aid and bans the export of national security technology to Russia. It also sets the table for a more aggressive round of sanctions in November, including moves to deprive Russia of international financing and to downgrade diplomatic relations. In response, Russia called the sanctions “draconian,” and again denied any involvement. “We grew accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence,” said a statement issued by the Russian Embassy. “We grew accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence. The American side refused to answer our follow-up questions, claiming that the information is classified,” the statement said. “We continue to strongly stand for an open and transparent investigation of the crime committed in Salisbury and for bringing the culprits to justice.” PAUL’S PUTIN LETTER: During his trip to Moscow, Sen. Rand Paul carried a letter from Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The aim and content of the letter was the subject of some confusion Wednesday as Paul met with Russian officials in a bid to improve relations. “The letter emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas including countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges,” Paul tweeted on Wednesday. He said he was honored to deliver the president’s letter. The White House offered a clarifying statement later in the day, indicating the letter was less about White House policy targets and more about getting the Kentucky Republican senator’s foot in the Russian leader’s door. “At Sen. Paul’s request, President Trump provided a letter of introduction. In the letter, the president mentioned topics of interest that Sen. Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin,” Hogan Gidley, the White House deputy press secretary,” said in a statement. US ‘READY AND VIGILANT’ TO DEAL WITH IRAN: The head of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel says U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Gulf are “well trained, well prepared” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, should Iran try to block international shipping through the vital chokepoint. Iran recently conducted an exercise with more than 100 ships that the U.S. said appear to be designed to demonstrate its ability to disrupt commercial ship traffic. “I think it’s pretty clear to us that they were trying to use that exercise to send a message to us,” Votel said speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. And Votel has a message back to Tehran. “We are paying attention. We are very vigilant. We are aware of what’s going on, and — and we remain ready to protect ourselves as we pursue our objectives of freedom of navigation and the freedom of commerce in international waters.” Votel admitted that Iran does have “capabilities.” including explosive boats and coastal defense missiles, that could cause mischief in the Gulf, but noted, “We have capabilities as well.” ALL IS CALM: Votel said so far this year there have been no incidents of Iranian boats harassing U.S. warships, as they have in the past. “This calendar year, we have not seen any incidents that we would characterize as unsafe or unprofessional,” Votel said. “I don’t know if I can explain why that is. I’m glad that that’s the case; I would encourage them to continue to do that.” ISIS AS HONORED GUESTS? Votel is also pushing back against reports that a band of Islamic State fighters were being treated like “honored guests” last week by the Afghan government. The New York Times reported that an ISIS commander and about 250 of his fighters who surrendered last week to authorities in northern Afghanistan were initially put in guest houses, given guards to protect them from the Taliban, and allowed to keep cellphones and keep up outside communications. “The government of Afghanistan has assured us that these ISIS-K fighters will be treated as war prisoners,” Votel said. The fighters with the ISIS-Khorasan branch of the terror group have been moved to government detention facilities and will be investigated for any war crimes, Votel told reporters at the Pentagon. Local Afghans have charged them with killing civilians and rape. The Afghan government admitted it could have handled the situation in a better way and that both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have pledged that ISIS prisoners will face justice, Votel said. AIDING ISIS FROM BACK HOME: As the Afghans recalibrated their treatment of ISIS, a teenager from South Carolina pleaded guilty Wednesday of attempting to provide ISIS with material support, the Justice Department announced. Zakaryia Abdin, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, first launched a social media account in 2017 to try to join ISIS and later communicated with an undercover FBI employee that he thought was associated with ISIS. He pledged to “wage jihad against the enemy of Allah” in a video post. TRY, TRY AGAIN: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly pitched the North Koreans on dismantling 60-70 percent of their nuclear weapons within six to eight months, but the regime has rebuffed him each time, according to an exclusive report by Vox. The proposal presented multiple times during closed-door negotiations over the past two months involves the regime turning the weapons to the U.S. or a third party, who would take them out of the country. “But each time, the North Korean negotiators, led by Kim Yong Chol — a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — have turned down Pompeo’s proposal,” the site reported. The U.S. insistence might explain why negotiations have appeared increasingly tense and have so far not yielded any nuclear agreement. Vox also points out that the U.S. does not know exactly how many weapons the North possesses, which creates a conundrum for verifying such a denuclearization goal. “Even if North Korean negotiators did agree to the U.S. timeline and handed over what it says is 60 to 70 percent of its arsenal, it would be difficult to verify that,” the left-leaning news site reported. THE RUNDOWN Defense News: How should one grade Trump’s export reform policy? Bloomberg: U.S. Navy Secretary Says Relations With Contractors Must Improve Washington Post: No public signs of progress after U.S., Turkey discuss detained pastor Task and Purpose: Exclusive: The Insider Attack In Syria That The Pentagon Denies Ever Happened Roll Call: Trump’s Foreign Trips Get Low Marks New Poll Shows Foreign Policy: Putin Is Building a Bosnian Paramilitary Force Fox News: Man arrested at ‘extremist Muslim’ New Mexico compound was training kids to commit school shootings: documents Air Force Times: Officials deny that a US airstrike killed Afghan police officers Defense One: Do We Need a Space Force? That Depends on Our Answers to These Legal and Strategic Questions Army Times: These soldiers are deploying to help fight the wildfires ravaging the West Coast Washington Post: Silicon Valley should stop ostracizing the military |
CalendarFRIDAY | AUG. 10 8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Nuclear Deterrence, Missile Defense, and Space: Paths Forward with Gen. Paul Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. mitchellaerospacepower.org 10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Japan: America’s Neglected Ally? heritage.org TUESDAY | AUG. 14 7 a.m. 5701 Marinelli Rd. Global Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Symposium and Exhibition. ndia.org 6 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. “Austin Tice: Children of Syria” photo exhibit. press.org WEDNESDAY | AUG. 15 11 a.m. 46870 Tate Rd. NDIA Patuxent River Speaker Series. ndia.org
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ADVERTISEMENT: NDIA invites you to attend the Army Science and Technology Symposium and Showcase August twenty first through twenty third at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC. Register today at http://www.ndia.org/ArmyScience |
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