WASHINGTON -- Vice President Mike Pence says the administration's plans for the U.S. Space Force, the country's sixth military branch, call for it to be up and running by 2020.
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Outlining details in a visit to the Pentagon for a separate Space Force -- proposed by President Donald Trump in June -- on Thursday, Pence said the new military service is necessary for ensure America's dominance in space.
The U.S. Air Force Space Command already handles the country's security and surveillance in space.
Pence's Pentagon trip coincides with the release of a Department of Defense report to Congress on recommendations for the Space Force.
He says advances by China and Russia have increased the need for the U.S. to elevate its space efforts."Now is not the time to rip the Air Force apart. Too many important missions at stake," he tweeted in June.
Any plan by the White House to create a new military service would need congressional action.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.