'Space Force': Trump announces new branch of US military

US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US "space force," which he said would become the sixth branch of the American military.

"I'm hereby directing the DOD (Department of Defence) and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces," Trump said at the start of a meeting of the National Space Council.

"That's a big statement. We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal."