18. May 2005 · Comments Off on Space Weapons Coming · Categories: Military, Technology

This from Reuters:

NEW YORK – The U.S. Air Force is seeking President Bush’s approval of a national security directive that could move the United States closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons, the New York Times reported Tuesday, citing White House and Air Force officials.

A senior administration official said a new presidential directive would replace a 1996 Clinton administration policy that emphasized a less aggressive use of space, involving spy satellites’ support for military operations, arms control and nonproliferation pacts, the report said.

Update: DefenseTech is underwhelmed:

Well, of course that’s what the Air Force wants. Last year, an Air Force paper on “Counterspace Operations,” signed by chief of staff Gen. John Jumper, declared that the “freedom to attack… denying space capability to the adversary” has become a “crucial first step in any military operation.” In 2003, the service released a “Transformation Flight Plan,” complete with a space weapons wish list — from anti-satellite lasers to arms that could “strike ground targets anywhere in the world from space.”

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