EU To Build A Space Army Against Donald Trump?

The European Union (EU) is reportedly considering to build its own space army to compete with the United States and China.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to study the development of space-based sensors and interceptors to stop missiles before reaching the United States.

“We will de­stroy every type of mis­sile at­tack against any Amer­i­can tar­get, whether before or af­ter launch,” Trump said while addressing the crowd gathered inside the Pentagon auditorium.

“When it comes to de­fend­ing Amer­ica, we will not take any chances. We will only take ac­tion," he added.

The President also argued that the country needs new technologies to address the increasing sophistication and number of missile arsenals of hostile states like Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

“Our goal is simple: to ensure that we can detect and destroy any missile launched against the United States anywhere, any time, any place.”

Echoing these sentiments, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Elzbieta Bienkowska addressed a space industry conference in Brussels, saying that the EU should follow Trump's footsteps to add a "space force."

"The US has created a Space Force. We need, on the medium to long-term, a European Space Force," Bienkowska explained.

"I hear some spoke about an orbital society: Why not? I hear others targeting the moon and the moon village: Why not? I hear also that Europe should have the capacity to have human space flights and not depend on others: Certainly yes!"

The former Polish deputy Prime Minister also noted that space technologies and the space sector has not seen a boost in the region, unlike in the US with projects like SpaceX making big strides. NASA, alone, is spending $20 billion on its annual space programs.

"We are not seeing this yet or not seeing it enough in Europe," she added.