The Pentagon is exploring the option of using Elon Musk’s rockets to deploy a “quick reaction force” to thwart a future Benghazi-style attack, according to publicly available documents published by the Pentagon.
The US Transportation Command, or USTRANSCOM, are a Pentagon office tasked with transporting cargo to American global military assets, announced that it was partnering with SpaceX to examine the feasibility of quickly blasting supplies into space and back to Earth rather than flying them through the air.
“The goal would be to fly a C-17 [cargo plane] equivalent anywhere on the globe in less than 60 minutes,” according to a presentation by Army Gen. Stephen Lyons.
“The goal would be to fly a C-17 [cargo plane] equivalent anywhere on the globe in less than 60 minutes.”
Army Gen. Stephen Lyons
One day SpaceX’s rocket technology could “quickly move critical logistics during time-sensitive contingencies” and “deliver humanitarian assistance,” A USTRANSCOM press release stated.
While the Pentagon also hinted at potentially transporting “personnel” through these space launches, the emphasis of the announcement was focused on transporting cargo.
In a 2021 “Midterm Report” drafted as part of the partnership with SpaceX, USTRANSCOM outlined both potential uses for a fleet of militarized Starships, according to internal documents.
SpaceX is already functionally a defense contractor and has launched American military satellites and recently bolstered Ukrainian communication links with Starlink.
Practical uses
Three examples of potential “DOD use cases for point-to-point space transportation,” were presented in the document.
The first notes that “space transportation provides an alternative method for logistics delivery” in the Pacific, alluding to altercations that might happen with China.
The second suggests SpaceX rockets could deliver an Air Force deployable air base system, “a collection of shelters, vehicles, construction equipment and other gear that can be prepositioned around the globe and moved to any place the USAF needs to stand-up air operations,” according to the report.
The third case, titled only “Embassy Support scenarios,” suggests a “rapid theater direct delivery capability from the US to an African bare base would prove extremely important in supporting the Department of State’s mission in Africa,” potentially including the use of a “quick reaction force,” a military term for a rapidly deployed armed unit, typically used in crisis conditions.
Though the scenario is vague and void of details, the notion of an African embassy under sudden attack from a “non-state actor” is reminiscent of the 2012 Benghazi incident, when armed militants attacked an American diplomatic compound in Libya, spurring a quick reaction force later criticized as having arrived too late to help.