New Zealand will ‘look to the stars’ with first military space unit

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) established its first dedicated space unit on July 4 with the reactivation of No. 62 Squadron at Whenuapai airbase, Auckland.

“Space is vital for modern life,” New Zealand’s Minister for Space Judith Collins, whose portfolio also includes Defense, said at an inauguration ceremony with top military brass, including Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies and Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb.

“We rely on space-based infrastructure for a range of critical services, from weather observation to financial transactions,” Collins said.

The squadron’s initial focus will be on monitoring, analyzing and understanding space activity to safeguard national and international interests, she added.

Webb said New Zealand recently joined the U.S.-led Operation Olympic Defender, a seven-nation multinational space defense initiative, giving New Zealand a voice and view in the grouping about responsible space behavior.

“Primarily it is about ensuring the continued, free, safe and assured access to space-based services … through deterring any likely action that might occur,” he said.

According to Air Commodore Andy Scott, air component commander at Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand, the new squadron of 12 individuals will grow over time, “working with industry, working with academia.”

Currently, the squadron is working closely with the U.S. Space Force, leading what’s known as the Pacific Cell, Scott explained. “It’s between us, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.”

New Zealand has been active in space based matters for at least a decade, in July 2015 joining the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) military initiative, which includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

In March 2017 the country joined Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in funding the launch of a satellite (WGS-9) for military access to the entire Wideband Global Satellite constellation.

New Zealand also participates, together with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom, in the U.S. Space Force’s annual Schriever Wargames. The drill tests policy, legal and operational approaches to hypothetical space security challenges arising in the future.

Originally formed in 1943, No. 62 Squadron provided allied forces with radar operations in the Pacific in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, including the Guadalcanal campaign, for more than a year until October 1944.

The motto of the new squadron: ”Look to the stars.”

Nick Lee-Frampton is the New Zealand correspondent for Defense News.

新西兰惠灵顿——新西兰皇家空军 (RNZAF) 于 7 月 4 日在奥克兰的 Whenuapai 空军基地重新启用第 62 中队，成立了其第一个专门的太空部队。

“太空对现代生活至关重要，”新西兰太空部长朱迪思·柯林斯（Judith Collins）在就职典礼上说道。柯林斯部长的职责还包括国防部。出席典礼的还有包括国防军司令托尼·戴维斯空军上将和空军司令达林·韦伯空军少将在内的高级军官。

科林斯说：“从天气观测到金融交易，我们依靠天基基础设施提供一系列关键服务。”

她补充说，该中队的初期重点将是监测、分析和了解太空活动，以维护国家和国际利益。

韦伯表示，新西兰最近加入了由美国领导的“奥林匹克卫士行动”，这是一项由七个国家组成的多国太空防御倡议，使新西兰在该组织中拥有了关于负责任的太空行为的发言权和观点。

“首要任务是确保人们能够持续、自由、安全、可靠地获得太空服务……通过阻止任何可能发生的行动，”他说。

据新西兰联合部队总部空军部队指挥官安迪·斯科特空军准将称，这支由 12 人组成的新中队将随着时间的推移而壮大，“与工业界合作，与学术界合作”。

斯科特解释说，目前该中队正与美国太空军密切合作，领导着所谓的太平洋小组。“小组成员包括我们、澳大利亚、日本和韩国。”

新西兰在太空领域至少活跃了十年，并于2015年7月加入了联合太空作战（CSpO）军事倡议，该倡议的成员包括澳大利亚、加拿大、法国、德国、英国和美国。

2017 年 3 月，该国与加拿大、丹麦、荷兰和卢森堡一起资助发射了一颗卫星（WGS-9），用于军事用途，以接入整个宽带全球卫星星座。

新西兰还与澳大利亚、加拿大、法国、德国、意大利、日本、挪威和英国一起参加美国太空部队一年一度的施里弗太空演习。该演习旨在检验应对未来可能出现的假想太空安全挑战的政策、法律和作战方法。

第 62 中队最初成立于 1943 年，在布干维尔岛和所罗门群岛等太平洋地区为盟军提供雷达作战服务，包括参与瓜达尔卡纳尔岛战役，持续了一年多，直到 1944 年 10 月。

新中队的座右铭是：“仰望星空。”

Nick Lee-Frampton 是《国防新闻》驻新西兰记者。