Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) urged in a Wednesday letter to the United States Space Force for the military to prepare for “space warfare” after Israel reported intercepting a rocket from outside Earth’s orbit after it was launched by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
“The world has crossed into a new, concerning frontier: war in space,” Blackburn warned the military branch in her letter, which was first obtained by The Washington Free Beacon. After highlighting the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and rising Chinese tensions over the fate of Taiwan, Blackburn noted the October 31 interception of a ballistic missile launched by “Iranian-sponsored Houthi terrorists” in Yemen.
Reports surfaced on October 31 that Israel’s Arrow missile defense system intercepted a long-range missile, with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) posting confirmation publicly. On November 6, The Telegraph reported the Arrow system became the first “to shoot down a ballistic missile outside of Earth’s atmosphere, in what is believed to be the first combat ever to take place in space.” Video released by the IDF was posted to X, formerly Twitter.
חיל האוויר חושף: יירוט טיל קרקע-קרקע ע"י מערכת ההגנה של טיל "חץ" pic.twitter.com/DDUGsPy4gq
— מעריב אונליין (@MaarivOnline) November 2, 2023
Blackburn warned, “Our adversaries have been emboldened, and the New Axis of Evil – China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea – have grown more united,” and that war “will not spare the United States and our allies” when it emerges in space.
Her letter notes that reports indicate Houthis are capable of reaching U.S. Navy vessels with their missiles, and comes after video emerged showing the USS Carney emerge unscathed after 22 drone and missile attacks from Houthi militias. Business Insider reported the Houthis are not considered a significant threat to American warships, but reports continue to emerge suggesting the Islamic militants are attacking civilian ships.
“Recent reports indicate that U.S. warships in the region are within the range of Houthi missiles, and China has a rapidly developing counterspace weaponry program and the space architecture that will enable them to execute long-range precision strikes,” Blackburn stressed. “We must be ready to confront this challenge and defend ourselves and our interests, whether on Earth or in outer space.”
The senator highlighted the Army’s September decision to scrap a hypersonic missile test that Bloomberg reported represented “a setback as the US looks to catch up with China for a crucial weapon of the future.”
Following the cancellation, Blackburn wrote that she is “concerned about military readiness in the face of these new threats,” and urged the Space Force to “provide an update” at its “earliest convenience” on its “capacity to defend the United States in this emerging age of space warfare.”
Space Force was created at the behest of former President Donald Trump in 2019 to achieve “American dominance in space.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
