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U.S. Air Force Lays Plans for Space Dominance An Air Force study called AF 2025 describes high-tech plans designed to assure U.S. dominance in an era of space-based commerce, terrorism and war. Start Date: 2/10/99 [This story is based on a paper titled "Star Tek -- Exploiting the Final Frontier: Counterspace Operations in 2025" (http://www.au.af.mil/au/2025/volume3/chap09/v3c5-1.htm), which is one chapter of a major Air Force study called AF 2025, first published in 1996 and posted at http://www.au.af.mil/au/2025/] AF 2025 was created in response to a directive from the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to "examine the concepts, capabilities, and technologies the United States will require to remain the dominant air and space force in the future." It contains this caveat: "The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States government." The chapter dealing with "Counterspace Operations in 2025" was authored by Lt Col Robert H. Zielinski, Lt Col Robert M. Worley II, Maj Douglas S. Black, Maj Scott A. Henderson, Maj David C. Johnson. While this paper cannot be construed as a direct statement of Air Force policy, GSReport holds that this paper does present an accurate reflection of strategic thinking within the USAF. The AF 2025 discussion of "counterspace" begins as follows: "Space superiority, like air superiority today, will be a vital core competency in the year 2025. U.S. national security is already heavily leveraged in space -- a trend which will increase in the future. Likewise, other countries and commercial interests will continue to seek the valuable 'high ground' of space. Where space interests conflict, hostilities may soon follow. Protecting the use of space and controlling, when required, its advantage is the essence of counterspace." In plain language, the USAF is expecting that, by the year 2025 or sooner, many nations and other entities (including transnational corporations and high-tech terrorists, among others) will be routinely using space for a myriad of purposes, and that therefore conflict over and between space assets will inevitably follow. The picture includes innumerable satellites, civilian space stations and shuttle craft, unmanned weapons platforms and manned military spacecraft crowding the orbital space around planet earth. AF 2025 describes in blatant detail how the Air Force can, and why it must, maintain control and supremacy in the space environment of the 21st century. It assumes that rogue elements could easily threaten the security of legitimate space assets and, by extension, the security and interests of the United States and its allies. The following illustrative scenario is offered: "The year is 2025. Somewhere in a low-earth orbit, a U.S.-owned communications satellite, one of dozens, quietly and unexpectedly goes off the air. Ground controllers with their extensive computerized control systems are puzzled but surprisingly not alarmed. They should be. "Unknown to them, or to the United States defense community, a consortium of rogue nation-states and organized crime cartels has just tested their new, hi-tech satellite blanker. The threat to the single satellite is formidable. The threat to U.S. national security will be devastating when these satellite blankers can target multiple satellites simultaneously. "This nightmare happens less than a year later. In an unexpectedly swift and decisive move, links to U.S. military forces worldwide are cut, global positioning system (GPS) navigation is virtually nonexistent, and a majority of U.S. commercial and military reconnaissance returns are nothing but static. Unfortunately, U.S. counterspace capabilities failed in this fictional glimpse into the future." But, make no mistake about it, in the REAL future, the U.S. Air Force has no intention of letting such a gross failure occur. Here are some of the "space counterforce" concepts discussed in the report: -- space detection and targeting -- space stealth -- parasite microsatellites (robo-bugs) -- trans-atmospheric vehicles (TAVs) -- kinetic energy weapons -- directed energy weapons The authors of the report concede that "some concepts stretch the imagination," but they insist that such discussion "will lay a foundation for what the future space fleet should look like." Military funding, here we come. Excelsior, Michael Lindemann's new novel (written under the pen name Michael Paul), depicts a wholly plausible near future in which human cloning is both widespread and widely abused; terrorists have access to target-specific biological weapons; recreational space travel is commonplace; and mounting pressures of global climate change, environmental decline, population growth and civil unrest inspire radical new approaches to urban security. Built by Frontier on a Macintosh on 6/17/00; 11:55:58 AM. Web Comments - Produced by Larry Lowe Served 2318 times since 2/10/99.

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