The Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael Moseley, last month directed his space boss, Gen. Kevin Chilton, head of Air Force Space Command, to lead a review of orbiting spacecraft vulnerabilities, reports Peter Spiegel of the Los Angeles Times. Moseley reportedly is greatly concerned about the Chinese anti-satellite test, which he said last week makes space “a contested domain now.” He wants discussion on whether the US military needs to begin work on more offensive counterspace systems, but he said that any discussion of space-based weapons is a “policy discussion.” Moseley wants the report by June.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.