HyPIR expert on space warfare shares insights on Trump’s Space Force

Dr Bleddyn Bowen says that the US Space Force isn’t as new or dangerous as many think

Dr Bleddyn Bowen (pictured), an expert on space warfare at HyPIR, has shared his insights on the Austrian public broadcaster and co-authored an op-ed on The Conversation on the recent policy announcements from the Trump administration to create a US Space Force as a sixth branch of the US military.

Speaking to Austrian public radio on the Reality Check programme, Dr Bowen said that the militarisation of outer space isn’t new, as it has always been a military realm from the dawn of the Space Age and this should not cause alarm that a the United States intends to start a shooting war in space. As Bleddyn discusses in The Conversation, the proposed Space Force amounts to little more than re-arranging the deckchairs of US military space officers and capabilities whilst every major military power on Earth is developing military space capabilities.

In addition, Bleddyn has recently published his research analysing in the UK’s military space doctrine’s similarities and differences to US military space doctrine in the RUSI Journal’s special issue to commemorate the centennial of the Royal Air Force. In this article, Bleddyn also considers the potential of the RAF as a UK air and space force.