Now This is Aiming High

Called as Seen has an interesting post about what our next step in controlling space could be: a transatmospheric vehicle called Black Horse. Though leaks seem to indicate we are going in another direction with a project called Blackstar, that direction doesn't make too much sense apparently. This could be misdirection. As I've noted before, misdirection is more effective than trying to hide or deny something.

But the Black Horse concept makes more sense:

Now, consider the vehicle described in this link. Size is held to a minimum by using aerial refueling to transfer oxidizer to the vehicle after launch; infrastructure requirements and prelaunch checklists are held to a minimum because the fuel and oxidizer are non-cryogenic; the bird can take off and land from just about any Air Force base worldwide if necessary; and the resulting "Black Horse" spaceplane is about the same size as an F-16.

This would be capable of striking objects in orbit, carrying payloads to orbit, and launching weapons from orbit or near orbit to strike ground targets rapidly and with little or no warning. Now that is space power unlike that duct-taped anti-satellite weapon the Chinese tested recently.

Still, saying that the leaked project could only be misinformation because the F-117 was never leaked before its debut in 1988 ignores that a stealth fighter played a major role in the 1986 thriller Red Storm Rising. So information did indeed leak out at least broadly.

Still, I'd bet on Black Horse over Blackstar. It fits the Air Force better, which should aim high to maintain roles (and budget):

I think the Air Force needs to go up to space and let the ground guys take over the aerial missions needed to directly support the troops.

Air superiority (including counter-air missions against enemy airfields), space control (both offensive and defensive), ICBMs, air transport, and electronic warfare should be the Air Force missions. Missions that are directly in support of ground forces should be controlled by those services with either helicopters or UAVs.

Science fiction calls space assets "ships" but there is no reason we must have a space navy in the future. Aim high, Air Force. Space Force has a nice ring, too.

This could be the start of the United States Space Force.

UPDATE: But not if the Air Force continues to insist that it should control the air space over the Army:

The battle, between the U.S. Army and Air Force, over who controls the air space over the battlefield, continues to heat up. What's happened, in effect, is that that, because of UAVs and smart bombs, most of the aircraft over the battlefield belong to the army.

The Air Force shouldn't try to command this level of fighting and observation. This is clearly Army (and Marine) terrain. Increased weapon and sensor range have expanded this sphere over ground forces, but the Air Force tries to act as if it is still 1950.

The Army and Marines are aiming higher. The Air Force must aim higher still.