As its first such facility abroad, the U.S. military officially activated a space force unit in South Korea on Wednesday.
This will likely allow Washington to keep a closer eye on its adversaries, North Korea, China, and Russia.
The resumption of U.S. After North Korea recently conducted a series of nuclear-capable ballistic missile tests intended to threaten the American mainland and its allies South Korea and Japan, Space Forces Korea was deployed to Osan Air Base, not far from Seoul.
During the activation ceremony at Osan, Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion, commander of the new space unit, said, “Just 48 miles north of us exists an existential threat; a threat that we must be prepared to dissuade, defend against, and – if required – defeat.”
He appeared to be referring to North Korea, which is only an hour’s drive from Seoul, the capital of South Korea, from its heavily militarized border with that country.
The United States owns the item. The Space Force, the first new branch of the American armed forces in more than 70 years, was established under then-President Donald Trump in December 2019.
The establishment of the Space Force was viewed soberly as a confirmation of the necessity of better organizing for the defense of American space interests, particularly satellites utilized for communication, navigation, and intelligence by both military and civilian organizations.
According to a preliminary Pentagon analysis, China and Russia have made significant efforts to develop technology that may enable them to interfere with or destroy American and allied satellites in a crisis or conflict.
A larger U.S. organization is superior to the U.S. Space Forces in Korea. A Space Force unit was recently established in Hawaii under the Indo-Pacific command.
The U.S., according to Jung Chang Wook, president of the Seoul-based Korea Defense Study Forum. Space Force was established to manage and develop various surveillance assets, including space-based satellites, in a productive, systematic manner.
According to him, the Indo-Pacific Command’s headquarters would be located there, while the force in South Korea would function as a field unit.
“The U.S. Korea’s Space Forces will look after, operate, and test the relevant machinery.
Simply said, Osan Air Base will be the location of the actual U.S. space operations, according to Jung.
The U.S., he claimed, plays a significant role. A massive amount of data and information sent by the US would be received, processed, and analyzed by Space Forces Korea.
Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of the 28,500 American soldiers stationed in South Korea, stated during the ceremony that “the U.S. military is faster, better connected, more informed, precise and lethal because of space.”
“Specifically, today’s activation of U.S. Space Forces Korea “improves our capacity to protect the homelands and maintain security and peace throughout Northeast Asia.”
One of the main mission areas that the new space unit in South Korea will concentrate on, according to the U.S. military stationed there, is “missile warning operations, which provides in-theater near-real-time detection and warning of ballistic missile launches,” as well as coordinating space operations and services like position navigation and timing and satellite communications within the area.
According to Jung, the launch of a space unit from South Korea was probably done with the intention of better monitoring North Korea, then China, and finally Russia.
In response to North Korea’s developing nuclear program, the United States and South Korea have increased their routine military exercises and tried to further strengthen their combined defense capacity.
In the event of a battle with the US or South Korea, North Korea has threatened to use nuclear weapons as the first line of defense.
The US military has warned the North that using nuclear weapons “would result at the end of that regime.”
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