America's enemies prepare to take the next major war into outer space
The United States has confirmed it has weapons in space as China and Russia develop sophisticated methods to disrupt or destroy American satellites, potentially blinding U.S. forces in future conflicts.
The opening moves of the next major war could unfold hundreds of miles above Earth, as U.S. adversaries develop increasingly sophisticated ways to blind American forces by jamming communications, disabling GPS, using lasers to attack satellites or destroying them completely.
American forces rely on satellites to communicate across battlefields, navigate ships and aircraft, track enemy forces, detect missile launches and guide precision weapons to their targets. Knocking those systems offline could leave forces struggling to see, communicate and strike effectively.
Growing capabilities
A sweeping new Defense Intelligence Agency assessment details how China and Russia are developing advanced methods to disrupt or destroy U.S. satellites. Chinese military thinkers have identified reconnaissance, communications, navigation and early-warning satellites as potential targets to "blind and deafen the enemy." Russia views U.S. reliance on satellites as a "critical vulnerability" to exploit during conflict.
The threat is described as a continuum, beginning with temporary disruptions and escalating through cyber and orbital attacks to kinetic weapons and potentially a nuclear detonation in space. During Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. and Iran "took offensive actions against each others' space capabilities to degrade and disrupt military actions on both sides."
We can't do military operations the way that we do them today without satellites, without systems in space.
Advanced systems
China already practices jamming satellite communications and GPS during military exercises and has ground-based lasers capable of disrupting satellites in low-Earth orbit. The Shijian-17 satellite features a robotic arm capable of grappling other satellites, with dual-use potential for both servicing and military applications.
Russia has repeatedly maneuvered its spacecraft near U.S. satellites, including Cosmos 2543 which followed a U.S. national security satellite before firing a projectile in what the DIA described as an anti-satellite weapons test. Russia is also developing Burevestnik, an air-launched weapon intended to "kill" satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Nuclear threat
The threat escalates dramatically with Russia's nuclear ambitions. "Russia is developing a satellite designed to carry a nuclear weapon," the assessment states. Such a weapon could cause the "rapid and sudden loss or degradation of thousands of satellites" operated by governments and companies worldwide.
A nuclear detonation in space would leave behind radiation belts that "could persist for years" and damage satellites that initially survived. The threat prompted former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner to call on the Biden administration to declassify intelligence about the "serious national security threat" in February 2024.
U.S. officials have been more guarded about confirming the underlying intelligence. As recently as April, U.S. Space Command chief Gen. Stephen Whiting said officials were "very concerned" by reports that Russia was potentially considering placing a nuclear anti-satellite weapon in orbit, but declined to confirm Moscow's actual development of such a capability.
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