Donald Trump's 'Space Force': US President orders creation of military service for 'warfighting' outside the Earth's atmosphere

Donald Trump has ordered the US military to create a sixth branch of its armed forces named the “Space Force” to help ensure America’s supremacy in space.

The US leader said it is not enough merely having a US presence in space to defend the country, saying “we must have American dominance” as he unveiled the plans on Monday.

A congressional aide to Mr Trump said the order is consistent with efforts to dedicate resources to “warfighting” outside the Earth's atmosphere.

In a speech at the White House, Mr Trump also promised the US would "return Americans to the Moon" and would eventually send people to Mars.

The president framed space as a national security issue, saying he does not want "China and Russia and other countries leading us."

While the US has dominated in space since the 1969 moon landing, China is making strong headway, while Russia is in decline.

"My administration is reclaiming America's heritage as the world's greatest spacefaring nation," Mr Trump said in the East Room, joined by members of his space council.

"The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers."

He is directing the Department of Defence and Pentagon to “immediately” begin the process of establishing the country’s sixth branch of its armed forces.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said that the department understands the president's guidance, and is working on the matter while taking into consideration the implications for intelligence operations for the other services.

"Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders," she said.

A senior congressional aide said that Trump's order is consistent with efforts by members of Congress over the past two years to find a way to dedicate additional resources to the country's warfighting in space.

But the issue has been contested, and even Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed some early reluctance to creating a new military service citing the expense and broader effort to integrate warfighting.