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Page 3 of 5 Weapons in Space
Military development of space has increased rapidly over the past few
decades to become an essential tool for modern warfare. Already
satellite systems provide target information, the ability to monitor
enemy movements, secure troop communication systems and weapons
guiding. Space, as the United States Space Command put it, is "the
fourth medium of warfare".
Space is becoming more and more militarised.The USA wants to make space
weaponised too, and missile defence is a big step in that direction.
Missile defence plans include:
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Firing interceptor missiles to intercept inter-continental ballistic missiles in space
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Lasers on satellites that can intercept ballistic missiles in space and on to the Earth
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Developing a system of spying and monitoring satellites; achieving “full spectrum dominance.”
Making the UK a Target
"Enemies intent on using weapons of mass destruction would see the need
to take on our infrastructure, of which the ballistic missile warning
radars [such as Fylingdales in Yorkshire] would be a very important and
perhaps the most vulnerable part." - Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden,
former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff
Despite UK government claims to the contrary, UK involvement in missile
defence makes the UK more of a target to our and the USA's aggressors.
In much the same way that forces usually knock out a country's air
defence's before starting a full-on attack, so as to increase the
chances of success, so a state about to attack the USA would want to
take out their defences first.
So, if a state wanted to attack the USA with ballistic missiles, they
may first move to disable missile defence. The easiest and most
effective way to do that would be to disable a key tracking station.
With two such stations in Yorkshire and possibly a third in Norfolk
that makes the UK a target.
The government scoffs at such a suggestion, arguing that no country has
precise enough ballistic missiles to attack a base in the UK. But as
September 11th showed there are ways to attack a country without using
ballistic missiles. A terrorist attack using a plane or a dirty bomb
for example, could disable one of the UK bases, knock out the system,
as well as killing or injuring the people living in the surrounding
area. Far from protecting the UK, the system makes us a target.
A Waste of Money
The US is currently spending around $7.4bn per annum on missile defence
research and development - money that could be put to much more
effective uses. By 2034 missile defence is projected to have cost about
$1.2 trillion. Enough money to feed, clothe, educate and house everyone
in the world. Despite the large amounts of money invested to date,
missile defence is a high risk, as yet unproven project which faces
vast technological challenges.
The UK is likely to spend something like £10 billion on the system.
That money could be spent in the UK on improving the lives of the
people that live here - hospitals, schools, transport, the environment.
Alternatively, it could be spent on projects that tackle the root
causes of terrorism, so reducing the likelihood of being attacked at
all.
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