US Space Force makes first foreign deployment to Arabian Peninsula

Sixth US military branch makes first move in efforts to defend interests

The newly formed US Space Force has sent troops to the Arabian Peninsula in a first foreign deployment.

A squadron of 20 Space Force troops have been stationed at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in what has become the force’s first foreign operational base.  

Soon several more squadrons will join the unit of "core space operators" who will run satellites, track enemy manoeuvres and try to avert conflicts in space.

An Al-udeid Space Force director, Colonel Todd Benson, said the operation was necessary to prepare for future space conflict.

"We're starting to see other nations that are extremely aggressive in preparing to extend conflict into space," he told the Associated Press. "We have to be able to compete and defend and protect all of our national interests."

"The missions are not new and the people are not necessarily new," added Col. Benson, who declined to name which nations were “aggressive” in space.

The deployment comes amid concerns that the United States needed to defend its hegemony in space.  

"The US military would like to see a peaceful space," Col Benson said. "Other folks' behaviour is kind of driving us to this point."

Iranian efforts to jam, hack and blind satellites have also concerned US military leaders and the Trump administration, who imposed sanctions on Iran for the launch of its first satellite into space this spring.

American military experts have described the launch as a secret military space programme, which Iran denies.

Brian Weeden, who works at the Secure World Foundation promoting peace in outer space, said "There's a concern Iran could interfere with military broadband communications."

"It's not that hard to do, but we've seen Iran and other countries become pretty darn efficient at doing it on a big scale," he said.

The Space Force is expected to eventually include 16,000 troops, thanks to a 2021 budget of $15.4 billion (£12 billion), that some lawmakers have labelled as a presidential vanity project.