The Pros and Cons of Creating a Space Force

Monday, July 30, 2018

SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution on the pros and cons of creating a Space Force. The panel discussion was prompted by President Trump's announcement in June that he was directing the Pentagon to begin planning for a separate branch of the military for space. Other participants on the panel included Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James; Steve Jacques, a retired Air Force officer and now Managing Partner at Velos LLC; and Brookings Senior Fellow Frank Rose, former deputy assistant secretary of state for space and defense policy. Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings, moderated the discussion as well as share his thoughts on the issues.

Dr. Weeden shared his skepticism that the Space Force would solve the issues facing the U.S. military with the increased threats posed by the proliferation of counterspace capabilities and the globalization, commercialization, and militarization of space. He also highlighted the need to have better clarity on what the mission of the Space Force would be, how it would better integrate military space capabilities with terrestrial military capabilities, and also the need for enhanced space diplomacy.

An audio recording of the discussion can be found here.