Russia on Friday said the new space strategy unveiled by the US this week was "aggressive," accusing Washington of seeing space as a place to wage war.

"The document confirms the agressive course by Washington in the space sphere," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Space is seen by the US side as an arena for warfare," it said, calling this a "destructive" approach which "provokes an arms race in space".

"Russia holds the diametrically opposing position, giving priority to using and studying space only for peaceful goals," it said.

Unveiled by the Pentagon on Wednesday, the strategy document was the first since President Donald Trump announced the creation of the new Space Force military arm in December.

The Pentagon strategy stressed that the US would strive to maintain superiority in space, in particular protecting GPS satellites on which the military as well as the emergency services, transport and even financial services depend.

"China and Russia present the greatest strategic threat due to their development, testing and deployment of counterspace capabilities," it said, claiming that Moscow and Beijing are developing tools for jamming and cyberattacks that directly threaten US satellites.

Pentagon maps out defense space strategy
Washington DC (UPI) Jun 19, 2020 - The Pentagon's strategy for defense in space treats the environment as a warfighting domain, a Defense Department report says.

The Defense Space Strategy calls for maintenance of space superiority, support to national, joint and combined operations on earth,and assurance of space stability, the Pentagon said this week.

The report identified what officials call four priority lines of effort: building a comprehensive military advantage in space; integration of power in space into the military; shaping the strategic environment; and cooperation with allies, partners, and other U.S. government departments and agencies.

The 18-page unclassified section of the report was released on Wednesday.

"China and Russia have weaponized space and turned it into a war-fighting domain," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Stephen Kitay told reporters on Wednesday.

"Their actions pose the greatest strategic threat with ongoing development, testing and deployment of counter-space systems and the associated military doctrine designed to hold allied and U.S.space systems at risk."

"The U.S. space enterprise was not built for the current strategic environment," Kitay added, noting that space has historically been regarded as a supporting domain for satellites to support other efforts, but not as a battleground.

The U.S. Space Force, established as the sixth branch of the Armed Forces in 2019, is specifically designated as the country's space warfare service branch.

It has previously noted Russia's direct ascent weapons and potential weapons to destroy satellites, as well as threats including electronic warfare, cyberattacks and ground-based lasers capable of blinding satellites.

Related Links
Military Space News at SpaceWar.com

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US vows to curb China and Russia in space
Washington (AFP) June 17, 2020
The United States wants to prevent China and Russia from taking control of space and will look to allies for help, according to a new "Defense Space Strategy" unveiled by the Pentagon on Wednesday. The strategy document was the first since President Donald Trump announced the creation of the new Space Force military arm in December. "China and Russia present the greatest strategic threat due to their development, testing and deployment of counterspace capabilities," it said. "China and Russi ... read more