Conquering the Emptiness: A New Stage in the Militarization of Outer Space

... process is only gaining momentum, and in the near future, all the large military powers will grant their military space agencies a higher and more autonomous status. Significantly, this is where Russia has been well ahead of the curve, as the country’s space forces have always enjoyed a relatively high degree of autonomy. It has reported directly to the General Staff of the Armed Forces since the 1980s, and in the 1990s and in the 2000s, it existed as a separate branch of the military. Currently, however, Russia is in the process of partly rolling back this process, with the space forces, the anti-aircraft defence force ...