Page 12 - Australian Defence Magazine May 2022

12 NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
MAY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LEFT: Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts inside the Electro Optic Systems (EOS) control room at Mount Stromlo Observatory.
SPACE COMMAND BEGINS OPERATIONS
JULIAN KERR I SYDNEY
AUSTRALIA’S new Defence space com- mand officially began operations on 22 March, with Defence Minister Peter Dut- ton flagging the likelihood of a future US- style Space Force.
While acknowledging the new com- mand would initially be modest compared to similar, well-established bodies oper- ated by allies, including the US Space Force established in 2019, “it is a neces- sary endeavour with a view to protecting our national interests and our need for a Space Force in the future,” Dutton stated.
The new command will centralise poli- cy formation and capability planning, en- hance cooperation with likeminded allies, and energise networking with Australia’s rapidly-growing commercial space sector.
The new entity, whose proposed estab- lishment was announced in May 2021, comprises personnel from the three armed services, Defence, and industry contractors.
The command works alongside the Aus- tralian Space Agency (part of the Depart- ment of Industry, Science, Energy and re- sources); industry partners; and research and scientific institutions.
The Commonwealth is investing $7 billion over the current decade to ensure Australia’s access to Space, Space services and geospatial information.
Australia and the US were strengthen- ing their alliance to support mutual objec- tives in the space domain, Dutton stated.
“The Australian Department of Defence and the US National Reconnaissance Of- fice have committed to a broad range of cooperative satellite activities which would expand Australia’s space knowledge and capabilities,” the Minister disclosed.
“Our partnership will also contribute to the US National Reconnaissance Office’s pursuit of a more capable, integrated, and resilient space architecture to support global coverage on a wide range of intel- ligence mission requirements.”
Defence Space Command is headed by Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts, a former head of RAAF capability, who told media Australia currently had no way to counter potential Chinese or Russian attacks on vital satellites without US help.
Defence was currently developing both kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities to deal with adversaries’ satellites without creating risky debris fields, she said.
Defence was also working on electronic
warfare capabilities in space and was plan- ning to launch a 100kg satellite next year to demonstrate new military capabilities.
Dutton also officially opened the Aus- tralian Signals Directorate’s (DSD’s) new Majura Park, Canberra facility which also houses personnel from Defence, the Fed- eral Police, Home Affairs, and the Austra- lian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
China’s hard power expansion had been matched by the growth of its cyber forces, Dutton said. “It’s not immediately appar- ent to Australians on a day-to-day basis, but it has got to a point where our authori- ties assess that China is now capable of mounting an unprecedented digital as- sault,” he stated.
“The cyber espionage and reconnais- sance which has been directed at our na- tion’s critical infrastructure, institutions, and networks can morph into something far more sinister.
“Spying is at one end of a spectrum of cyber activities. At the other end are cyber-attacks of such scale and sophisti- cation they can be nationally, regionally, and globally debilitating.
“Australia so far has escaped the worst of this but make no mistake, Australia is in the crosshairs.”
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