UK Space Command targets IOC in 2022

摘要

LESS THAN two months after being officially formed, the UK's nascent Space Command is looking to establish an initial operating capability (IOC) in the first quarter of next year.At the Cambridge branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society on May 6, Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey, inaugural commander of UK Space Command, said the target was to establish headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire by June 2021 and the new command to achieve IOC in Q1 2022.The space domain was mentioned as an area of strategic importance in the recently released Integrated Review, which redefined the defence and security posture of the UK to include a heavy emphasis on intelligence gathering and the digital battlespace. According to the UK MOD, Space Command has been established as a Joint Command, staffed by members of the British Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, the Civil Service and members of the commercial sector. It will work alongside the MOD Space Directorate, which is responsible for defence space policy and strategy as well as cross-government and international co-ordination. It will also interact with the UK Space Agency when required to deliver on national space capability requirements.