Space Force, newest branch of US military, to stand up new squadrons to address growing threats

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Space Force, the newest branch of the U.S. military, is to stand up new squadrons to address new threats. 

The announcement came from Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the first commander of the Space Operations Command, which he says "sits at the nexus" between the sixth armed service, U.S. Space Force, and the 11th combatant command known as the reinstated U.S. Space Command. 

Both are about two and half years old and were launched under the Trump administration. 

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During Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ "Schriever Spacepower Forum" Monday, Whiting explained U.S. Space Force will stand up three new intelligence squadrons within the next two years. 

Vice President Kamala Harris receives an unclassified briefing in the Command Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 18, 2022, in California.  (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"In the next two years, we’re going to stand up three additional squadrons in Delta 7, and that’s all fully funded, all the billets are in place. We’re going to stand up a threat analysis squadron, a targeting squadron and a PED squadron for procession, exploitation and dissemination," Whiting said. "So, we’re really getting after the intel requirements that our space warfighters need, and those intel guardians are leading the way for us, and I’m very, very proud of what they’ve done." 

Whiting, during the online event, noted increased threats from China and Russia, condemning the Kremlin’s "reckless behavior" in testing its anti-satellite weapon system in November 2021. He also said the Space Force must prepare against potential cyber-attacks from North Korea and Iran, as those countries have lower space capabilities and digital threats have a lower bar to entry. 

There’s been a 31% increase in trackable objects in orbit since 2021, and a 64% increase since 2020, Whiting said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris receives an unclassified briefing in the Command Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 18, 2022, in California.  (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"We are now seeing other actors go to the moon, go to lunar orbit, and we do need to be concerned and interested in what they are doing there," Whiting said. "Certainly, today we’re more focused on terrestrial operations, but as Commerce, as NASA, as other countries start to go to the moon and beyond, we will have to pivot up and out toward those orbital regimes and, so I’m proud of the team as we start to look at that to make sure we’re ahead of the threat." 

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After so far relying on other branches of the military, Space Force is in the process of standing up a national space intel center of its own, Whiting said. 

This comes as Congress separately held its first public hearing on UFOs in 50 years Monday, during which the Pentagon released declassified videos.