Air Force Mulling Over Programs to Kill, Protect Satellites in Space Warfare

摘要

Much to the consternation of advocates who oppose the use of arms in space, the Air Force is speaking bluntly about its right and intention to explore the orbital deployment of weapons platforms. That objective is not new, and broad hints of it have come in earlier documents, first articulated in 2001 in a report of a space commission chaired by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. But the Air Forces official focus traditionally has been on countermeasures and protective technology, rather than on killing enemy satellites. Two documents released this year indicate that, while perhaps not codified, the Air Force is acknowledging that space will not be weapon-free, and that dominating space will require armaments in orbit.