Trump signs directive to create Space Force

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a long-awaited directive ordering the Department of Defence to create a Space Force as a sixth military branch.

According to the CNN, the Space Policy Directive-4 (SPD-4) orders the Pentagon draft legislation for Congress that would develop the Space Force as a part of the US Air Force.

This would be a youngest US military branch surpassing the Air Force which was added shortly after World War II. The Space Force will serve as a force provider for personnel, assets, etc while the Space Command will serve as the operational command that will lead space operations by employing space capabilities.

The directive was developed by National Space Council along with Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the White House Counsel's Office.

In December last year, Trump had has signed a memo to establish a US Space Command as a unified combatant command.

The US President first proposed the idea of Space Force as a part of his national security strategy last year.

In June last year, he ordered the Pentagon to begin the creation of the new branch. Then in August, Vice President Mike Pence announced the Pentagon's detailed plan for President Donald Trump's vision of a Space Force.