US Space Force Chief General John Raymond lauds Australian partnership during first visit to Exmouth

The man in charge of the recently established US Space Force has stressed the importance of Australia – and WA – to safeguarding vital technology like GPS and mobile communications during his first visit to the State. USSF Chief of Space Operations General John W. “Jay” Raymond was in Exmouth on Thursday visiting the first C-band radar in the southern hemisphere, operated in partnership between the US and Australia at the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station. The radar – which completed its relocation from Antigua in the Caribbean in 2017 – is used to track satellites and other objects as they orbit through space and provides the US with surveillance capabilities south of the equator. Protecting satellites that underpin GPS and communications technology that are critical for the continued function of everything from mobiles phones to the internet and the global banking system is among the key objectives of the USSF. “Satellites orbit the Earth and so to be able to do this mission well, you have to have global capabilities,” General Raymond said. “To be able to understand the domain, we rely very heavily on partners to help and we work very closely together (so) Australia, and specifically Western Australia, is important to us.” The US Space Force was established in 2019 – becoming the sixth branch of the US military after the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard – and currently has 11 personnel stationed in WA. That will potentially grow following the unveiling this week of Australia’s own Defence Space Command, which will receive $7 billion in funding over the next decade. General Raymond said ensuring unfettered access to space was “extremely critical” to global stability. “The average Australian and the average American, the average person in the world, uses space each and every day,” he said. “You use space before you have your first cup of coffee many times, and it fuels our way of life.” While the US and its allies remain the global leader in space-based military capabilities, General Raymond said other nations were attempting to close the gap. “When you talk about capabilities that might hinder our ability to access space, there’s a full spectrum of capabilities that are out there,” he said. “Both China and Russia have jamming capabilities. They can jam communications satellites and our GPS satellites for example. “They both have lasers that can blind or dazzle our satellites. They both have satellites that are on an orbit that is concerning. “China has a satellite that has a robotic arm on it, that can be used in the future to reach out and grab another satellite. “They both have missiles that can launch from the ground and blow up a satellite. China demonstrated that in 2007 and Russia just did that here recently. “And then there’s cyber threats as well — so there’s a full spectrum of threats that we’re concerned about. “Our goal is to make sure that conflict doesn’t begin or extend into space, we want to deter that from happening, and be able to make sure that that space is available for the world to use.” General Raymond said while “geography is important” when it comes to US space operations in Australia the partnership went “well beyond that” and that in future there was “opportunities to develop capabilities together”.