Report: China, Russia appear to be secretly weaponizing satellites to prepare for possible war with US

The Epoch Times has reported that the two primary enemies of the United States, China and Russia, are placing “dual-use” satellites into space while masking their military applications, citing reports from the Pentagon.

“China and Russia view the U.S. as overly reliant upon space for military and information superiority. Seeking asymmetric advantages in [a] future conflict, both countries are designing, testing, and demonstrating counterspace weapons to deny, disrupt, or destroy satellites and space devices,” the military report says. “They often mask or conceal these activities to avoid international condemnation.”

A joint report written by the National Space Intelligence Center, a U.S. Space Force unit, and the National Air and Space Intelligence, a U.S. Air Force unit, warned the use of such technology by the two primary enemies of the U.S. is “difficult to detect, attribute, or mitigate.”

“The dual-use nature of some spacecraft technologies makes counterspace tests or hostile activity difficult to detect, attribute, or mitigate,” the report, titled “Competing in Space,” says. “For example, sensors to inspect other satellites and robotic arms for servicing other satellites support peaceful missions, but can also be used to target or attack spacecraft.”

The report pointed to China’s Shijian-21, a “debris mitigation satellite” that could be fashioned to function as a weapons system. It towed a defunct Chinese navigation satellite in January to a graveyard orbit.

Meanwhile, another Chinese satellite– Shijian-17– is equipped with a giant robotic arm, which “could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites,” the report warned.

Meanwhile, Russia has deployed a number of prototype orbital anti-satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO), including the Cosmos series–2504, 2519, and 2536 to test “kinetic kill capabilities, the report said.

Most satellites orbiting Earth are located in LEO, which is about 1,200 miles distant from the Earth’s surface. Other orbits include the medium Earth orbit (MEO), the highly elliptical orbit (HEO), and the geostationary orbit (GEO). As an example, GPS satellites are located in the MEO.

As part of routine Chinese military exercises, Beijing regularly employs “incorporate jammers against satellite communications” and other targets, leading the communist nation to likely be developing jammers designated to target “a wide range of satellite communications supporting government and military operations.”

Both nations are also testing directed energy weapons.

“China has multiple ground-based laser systems of varying power levels that could blind or damage satellite sensors. By the mid-to-late 2020s, Beijing may have higher power systems capable of damaging the satellites,” the report warned.

Law Enforcement Today previously reported that in 2021, China tested hypersonic missiles that use a deployment method similar to a concept introduced by the former Soviet Union called a “fractional orbital bombardment system.” The report noted that Chinese hypersonic weapons “could prevent reliable missile warning and complicate defense engagements.”

Things have changed rapidly since the last incarnation of Competing in Space, published in December 2018, with a drastic increase in the number of satellites. For example, at the end of 2022, there were 7,096 satellites, more than six times the amount in 2018. The United States had 4,723 satellites, while China and Russia had 647 and 199, respectively. The rest of the world has a total of 1,527 satellites.

“Over the past decade, China has rapidly developed into a major international space power, effectively multiplying its number of on-orbit satellites tenfold,” the report says. “More than half of the approximately 200 satellites China launched in 2022 were remote sensing satellites.”

The report also notes that competition in space isn’t restricted to Earth’s orbit. The moon, asteroids, Mars, and other celestial bodies “could provide countries with valuable resources or strategic advantages,” the report said.

For example, China plans to put astronauts on the moon by 2030. Also, several nations, including Venezuela, Pakistan, South Africa, and Belarus, have signed up for a planned joint moon-based project led by China and Russia. That project is officially known as the International Lunar Research Station.

The report drew attention to Chinese and Russian activities at the Lagrange Points in space, including a Chinese relay satellite called Queqiao, stationed at one of these five points.

Due to the relative location between Earth and the Moon, spaceships can remain in the area for longer, thereby consuming less fuel. Some experts compare these points to strategic ocean gateways such as the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.

“These regions are uniquely valuable for long-term missions including surveillance, space environment monitoring, or data relay, in deep space,” the report says.

The report said the key to the future in space is “preserving space access” for all nations; however there is no international consensus on “space norms.”

“Despite the substantial increase in new space operators, technologies, and spacecraft, the international community has not achieved consensus on major norms, rules, or principles governing activities in space since the 1970s,” the report says.

The report says that China and Russia “have endorsed a draft treaty for space that ‘fails to address a variety of anti-satellite weapons and lacks meaningful verification mechanisms,’” The Epoch Times reported.

As of last December, 33 nations have signed the U.S.-led “Artemis Accords,” which commit those nations to a “common vision of peaceful, sustainable, and transparent cooperation in space.”

“The expanding utility of space systems has extended the boundaries of conflict and exacerbated the world’s vulnerability to dangers in the space environment,’ the report concludes. “Actors seeking to challenge international order will have access to systems capable of devastating and lasting impacts on our progress on Earth and in space.”