By Lin Yuan
林源
The US Department of Defense established a Space Force component in the Indo-Pacific Command in November with a plan to set up a similar component within the US Forces Korea, picking up the speed of its space force development. The head of the electromagnetic operation unit of US Space Command said that the global space economy is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2040, and the US military must move faster to occupy the commanding height in that domain considering how space combat capacities will affect future warfare.
11月，美軍在夏威夷成立印太總部太空作戰司令部，并擬在駐韓美軍內新設太空作戰司令部，太空軍建設明顯提速。美國太空司令部電磁作戰小組負責人韋斯勒表示，預計到2040年，全球太空經濟的總價值將達1萬億美元，考慮到太空作戰能力將影響未來戰爭的結果，美軍必須加快占領太空這個“戰場制高點”。
However, the problems that come hand in hand with America’s accelerated space force development have been much denounced.
美軍太空軍建設在不斷提速的同時，其面臨的問題也屢遭詬病。
First, the development hasn’t proved effective when benchmarked against potential rivals. American media reported that in the past 10 to 15 years, America’s potential rivals like Russia have made much more headway in space capacity enhancement than the US. That’s why the Biden administration has to, under its overall framework of competitive strategy, focus on building space forces, creating environmental security of space, and deepening space alliance.
首先，對標潛在對手，建設效果不佳。美媒報道稱，過去10年至15年，俄羅斯等潛在對手在太空能力建設上所取得的進展已超過美國。為此，拜登政府不得不在其總體競爭戰略的框架下，將建設太空力量、打造太空環境安全、深化太空聯盟等視為重點方向。
Second, the Space Force has unclear duties with other domestic agencies. There are always debates over the roles of the Space Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to official descriptions, NASA is mainly responsible for exploring the solar system and the earth as well as other scientific research, while the Space Force is focused on preserving national security. But in reality, NASA has always been deeply engaged in national defense ever since its founding in 1958, and it overlaps with the Space Force regarding manned spaceflight and space defense technologies as well.
其次，對照國內機構，職責區分不清。美國國內一直對太空軍與國家航空航天局的區別存在爭論。根據官方表述，美國國家航空航天局主要負責探索太陽系和地球，以及進行其他科學研究，而太空軍的重點“業務”是維護國家安全。但實際情況是，美國國家航空航天局自1958年成立以來，一直與國防領域密切相關。而且，在載人航天和太空防御相關技術方面，美國太空軍與國家航空航天局也有交集。
Third, the Space Force suffers from uneven allocation of resources compared with other military services. It is learned that most of the satellites of the US military are controlled by the Air Force, which competes with the Space Force for resources in many ways. Moreover, due to historical reasons, the US Army, Navy and Air Force each has their own space unit, resulting in decentralized management and multiple lines of command that have rather restricted the development of space capacity. This remains unchanged after the Space Force was established.
再次，對比其他軍種，利益分配不均。據介紹，美軍絕大部分衛星都掌握在空軍手中，太空軍和空軍在資源分配問題上存在諸多矛盾。此外，基于歷史原因，美國陸、海、空軍分別成立了針對太空業務的部門，導致管理分散、政令繁雜，反而制約了太空能力的發展。即便在太空軍獨立成軍后，這一問題仍未解決。
Analysts said the US has sped up its moves of “space militarization” in recent years, taking the space domain as a “commanding height” in major country competition. Two trends are worth special attention.
分析人士指出，近年來美國加速推進“太空軍事化”，將太空領域作為大國競爭“制高點”，其兩大發展趨勢值得關注。
The first is the concentration of space capacities across the US military. Commander of the US Space Command James Dickinson recently said that the Space Command, Cyber Command, and Army Space and Missile Defense Command will work more closely together to integrate their capacities in space, cyberspace and special operations and form a “triad” deterrence against the rivals.
一個是美軍內部的太空能力聚合。美國太空司令部司令詹姆斯?迪金森不久前表示，未來美國太空司令部、網絡司令部、陸軍航天與導彈防御司令部將加強合作，融合太空能力、網絡能力、特種作戰能力，構建針對對手的“三位一體”影響力威懾布局。
Senior officials of the US Air Force also said space information support capacity will be essential for combined operations across all domains, while military and commercial satellites as well as the ability to build them will be key to the military’s next-generation resilient space system. It’s foreseeable that “cross-service integration” and “military-civilian cooperation” will be the keywords in America’s space capacity development, with the aim of establishing a so-called highly decentralized and resilient space architecture featuring quick replenishment.
美國空軍高層也表示，太空信息支援能力將是美軍開展聯合全域作戰行動的必要條件，軍用和商用衛星及其構建能力將是美軍下一代韌性太空體系架構的關鍵力量?？梢灶A見，未來美軍將在太空建設上強化“軍種聯合”“軍民合作”，以搭建所謂高度分散、強韌、可快速補充的太空架構。
The other is the concentration of space capacities between the US and its allies. To enhance its presence in space, the Japanese Defense Ministry held a flag-awarding ceremony for its newly formed Space Operations Group at Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Fuchu base in the suburbs of Tokyo. The British Defense Ministry recently released a document titled UK Space Power (JDP 0-40), the country’s first independent doctrine publication targeting the space domain.
另一個是美國與盟友的太空能力融合。今年3月，為強化在太空領域的存在，日本防衛省在位于東京都的航空自衛隊府中基地為新組建的“太空作戰群”舉行授旗儀式。近日，英國國防部發布題為《聯合條令出版物0-40——英國太空力量》的條令文件，這是英軍首份針對太空領域的獨立條令文件。
It’s worth noting that these countries looked to the US while forming their own space operation forces or enacting space documents, hoping to enhance their space combat capacities through intensified military cooperation with Big Brother, including strengthening information exchange, coordinating military demand in the space, and conducting joint operations.
值得注意的是，上述國家在成立太空作戰力量或頒布太空條令時，不約而同地將目光投向美國，希望通過與美國強化軍事合作來提升太空實戰能力，具體內容包括加強信息交換、協調軍事太空需求、執行聯合行動等。
