Kremlin promises to prevent US from crossing 'red line' with weapons in space
Russia is keeping close tabs on the development of a military space force by the United States to ensure that Washington "has not crossed a red line," said Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos (Russian state-run Corporation for Space Activities), during the corporation’s Moscow conference while commenting on US President Donald Trump’s order to the US Department of Defense to study the creation of a space force.
"The decision announced by the president [US Donald] Trump concerns the creation, in effect, of an aerospace force. We also have an aerospace force. The only issue is that it is necessary to prevent the launching of weapons into space. And [the fact that] space vehicles, as a rule, are all dual-use is not a secret for specialists," Rogozin said.
Russia will keep watch to ensure that "the Americans do not cross that red line beyond which the real militarization of outer space will begin; that is, the export of weapons," Rogozin said, explaining that it was "already dangerous."
"Ballistic missiles are also weapons that enter space and exit toward their targets; but if we talk about the storage of weapons in outer space, these are unacceptable things," the Roscosmos head stressed, noting that Moscow is ready to support "all [necessary] processes for progress " on this issue, in terms of arguments and legislative initiatives.
Trump’s order to create a space force became public knowledge on June 18. The President said at the time that "when it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space," adding that the US must secure its dominance in outer space. Prior to Trump’s order, US military space programs were considered to be an area of responsibility for the Air Force command.
Russia, in return, has promised a "tough answer" if America's plans to create a military space force violate the treaty banning weapons in outer space. This response will be aimed at ensuring world security, said Viktor Bondarev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security and former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces.