It is only “a matter of years” before the US fights “from space,” the United States Air Force’s top brass warned. USAF General David Goldfein’s speech on Friday expressed the starkest prediction yet — more endless wars and a battlefield that could very well be in outer space.
In a keynote speech, Goldfein made the comments on February 23 at the Air Force Association’s 34th annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando, Florida.
“[It’s] time for us as a service, regardless of specialty badge, to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today,” he stated.
SpaceNews said Goldfein warned the audience it is not a question of if, but when, the war in outer space begins.
“I believe we’re going to be fighting from space in a matter of years,” he said. “And we are the service that must lead joint war fighting in this new contested domain. This is what the nation demands.”
ICYMI @GenDaveGoldfein at #AWS18 “mutually beneficial partnerships are crucial to our strategy...no greater confidence-building measure than sharing the critical & timely information w/ our allies & partners needed for success on the battlefield” **WATCH** https://t.co/MJqLtRmLIC
— PACAF (@PACAF) February 23, 2018
SpaceNews further said, Goldfein has been an alarmist in past speeches about an imminent space war. However, the online publication that covers news in space and satellite industry considers his latest speech “more emphatic and stark about the role of the Air Force in space warfare.”
Air Force COS David Goldfein. I believe we will be fighting in space in a matter of years. @TB_Times @MacDill_AFB pic.twitter.com/w26tzggiww
— Howard Altman (@haltman) February 23, 2018
Goldfein’s broader message is that the Air Force has to prepare for decades of hybrid wars across air, space, and cyber domains. He added the Air Force is behind the curve when it comes preparedness in fighting cyber and space domains.
Goldfein embraces the idea, America’s endless wars will be fought on a multi-domain basis. “I look forward to discussing how we can leverage new technology and new ways of networking multi-domain sensors and resilient communications to bring more lethality to the fight,” he said.
Back in October, we reported how the US Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, called for a new strategy across multiple domains—space, cyberspace, air, land, maritime— in endless wars stretching from 2025 to 2040 timeframe. It seems as Goldfein is whistling the same tune of the US Army as the American empire is headed towards conflict.
To prepare for a fight on a multi-domain platform, the Air Force requires more money from taxpayers. Goldfein has instructed Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, the commander of Air Education and Training Command, to oversee the program to prep airmen for future space operations.
“We need to build a joint, smart space force and a space-smart joint force,” Goldfein said.
According to Spacenews, the Air Force is looking to spend some $44.3 billion in space systems over the next five years:
The narrative that the Air Force is more focused on space also is reflected in the budget proposal for fiscal year 2019. According to budget documents, the Air Force is seeking $8.5 billion for space programs — $5.9 billion in the research and development accounts, and $2.6 billion for procurement of new satellites and launch services. The 2019 request is 7.1 percent more than the Air Force sought in last year’s budget. Over the next five years, the Air Force projects to invest $44.3 billion in space systems — $31.5 billion in research and development, and $12.8 billion in procurement. That would mark an 18 percent increase over the $37.5 billion five-year plan submitted last year.
While America’s military-industrial complex is conditioning Washington for endless wars, and multiple domain battlefields that could very likely be in outer space. David Stockman rails against the out of control US military spending and says the combined “warfare state” and “welfare state” spending threatens “to kill the financial outlook of this country.”
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