Latest news with #StephenWhiting
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
US general warns China is winning the military space race
China's space-based military technology is developing 'breathtakingly fast' with US forces at risk of the 'kill chain', Washington has warned. Beijing have been catching up in the arms race to develop missile technology that can be sent from space at a 'very concerning rate', the top commander of the US Space Force (USSF) added. The so-called kill chain - which identifies, tracks and attacks a target - could be used on US and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific as well as 'over-the-horizon' precision strikes, General Stephen Whiting told The Telegraph. The warning comes only a month after Donald Trump unveiled his own plans for a $175 billion 'Golden Dome' defence system which he says will protect the US from the world's most powerful weapons. The integration of space-tech with China's army, navy and air force has made them 'more lethal, more precise and more far-ranging' - and could take the lead from the US in the space-arms race. Earlier this year, the USSF said that China had conducted several synchronised satellite manoeuvres in low Earth orbit, also known as 'dogfighting'. 'They are practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another,' General Michael Guetlein, the Deputy Chief of US Space Operations at the USSF, said. He added: 'There used to be a significant capability gap between the United States and our adversaries, driven by our technological advantage. 'That gap, once massive, has narrowed considerably. 'If we don't change our approach to space operations, we risk seeing that gap reverse, putting us at a disadvantage.' China has more than 500 satellites capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), with 67 sent up in the last year alone, the USSF said in 2024. The 'space enabled services' are broken down into three units - a cyberspace army, an aerospace force, and an information support arm. While America have around 8,000 satellites in space compared to China's 1,000 in total, Chinese scientists have also recently developed what is considered the world's most powerful satellite tracking camera. Pictured: Stephen Whiting. The technology is able to take pictures with millimetre level accuracy more than 60 miles away. Chinese satellites are also working towards counter-weapons development that would see other satellites jammed, destroyed or 'spoofed' - which is where the GPS receiver is misled or manipulated. Exerts have previously warned that the US is underprepared for such developments, with the first test done in 2008 where a satellite in space was shot down with a missile on the ground. But the latest developments could redirect drones, disable munitions or missiles and shut down crucial infrastructures. China's long-range weapons that strike with precision 'depend on space' and is how Beijing 'closes its kill chain', the USSF commander of the Indo-Pacific region, Gen Anthony Mastalir, has previously warned. Trump's Golden Dome proposal was 'long overdue' and 'absolutely necessary' amid growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia, experts said at the time. But Beijing warned that the plan to put US weapons into the earth's orbit for the first time 'heightens the risk of space becoming a battlefield, fuels an arms race, and undermines international security.' Meanwhile Moscow called for Washington to make contact regarding the programme - to which Trump said he would do so 'at the right time'.
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
China's space militarisation moving 'breathtakingly fast': US Space Force
China's rapid militarisation of space is the most pressing concern to the United States, USSF Commander General Stephen Whiting said in an interview with military website Breaking Defence earlier this week. The US Space Force commander spoke on China's 'breathtakingly fast' advancement in satellite capabilities, counter-space weapons, and battlefield integration when asked about his most pressing concerns for the Indo-Pacific region. When asked about concerns raised by Brigadier General Anthony Mastalir, who last year highlighted China's use of space to 'complete the kill chain' as the most pressing threat in the region, Whiting confirmed that he shared those concerns. The term 'kill chain' refers to the sequence of steps involved in identifying, tracking and striking a target. In the space domain, this may refer to the integration of satellites, surveillance systems, communication links and weapon platforms, which would work together to detect a threat and deliver a coordinated response. "China has built a targeting system based in space to find, fix, track and target US and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility," Whiting told Breaking Defence. US' areas of concerns Whiting highlighted three key areas of concern. First, he said China has developed a robust space-based targeting network capable of locating, tracking, and engaging American and allied assets, including aircraft carriers, with precision. These capabilities, Whiting warned, support 'over-the-horizon' strikes, effectively closing the distance between Chinese weapon systems and faraway targets. The second area of concern, Whiting said, is China's deployment of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons. These include both "soft kill" methods, such as cyberattacks, jamming of satellite communications and GPS, and 'hard kill' options like high-energy lasers and direct-ascent missiles. Co-orbital ASATs, which are satellites that manoeuvre close to others in orbit to disable or destroy them, also form part of Beijing's growing arsenal. Thirdly, the general warned of China's effective integration of space technology into its armed forces, which has enhanced the precision and range of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Navy and Air Force. 'They have leveraged all the advantages of space to make their military more lethal, more precise and more far-ranging,' he said. The comments follow the recent Operation Midnight Hammer, in which US military satellites played a crucial role in strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the space-based systems provided pre-strike imagery, guided munitions, supported radio-silent missions, and tracked incoming retaliation from Tehran.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China moving ‘breathtakingly fast' in space military tech, posing threat to US: commander
China is moving 'breathtakingly fast' in space military technologies and posing strategic threats to the United States, America's top space force official said on Tuesday. USSF Commander General Stephen Whiting voiced concern about Beijing's growing capabilities in three areas, echoing previous American warnings about a Chinese space-based 'kill chain'. 'That is very concerning,' Whiting told military website Breaking Defence. The general's remarks came as space-based capabilities have played a crucial role in contemporary warfare, such as Operation Midnight Hammer over the weekend in which the US military carried out air strikes on suspected nuclear facilities in Iran Play
South China Morning Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's space ambitions ‘forcing' Washington's Golden Dome strategy: commander
The head of US Space Command has warned that China's expanding arsenal of anti-satellite weapons is forcing Washington to accelerate defences in orbit, calling the threat 'real' and immediate, amid growing scrutiny of President Donald Trump's proposed missile shield. Advertisement General Stephen Whiting told a public forum in Chicago on Thursday that the ambitious defence system known as the Golden Dome was a response to how China had spent the past three decades preparing to target American space infrastructure. 'They have built capabilities to hold at risk our space systems,' he said. 'Golden Dome is part of making sure we're ready.' Whiting said Beijing's strategy included deploying weapons in orbit, developing jamming systems and fielding kinetic anti-satellite missiles – all with the explicit aim of blinding and disrupting US military operations during a crisis. 'China has ambitions to be the world's greatest space power,' he said. 'And they are backing that up with action.' Advertisement Unveiled this week with an initial US$25 billion investment, the Golden Dome is a sweeping plan to build a layered missile defence architecture to protect the US from long-range and hypersonic threats.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Command using experimentation to field high-need capabilities
U.S. Space Command's top officer said today his team is leaning hard into experimentation as a means for fielding capabilities that address some of its highest priority missions, including missile threat tracking, command and control and domain awareness. The command recently produced its first-ever strategies for experimentation and AI and machine learning, Gen. Stephen Whiting said Tuesday — a step toward addressing operational needs by trying out capabilities that are available today from both traditional defense companies and new entrants to the market. Both strategies prioritize missions like missile defeat, enhanced battlespace awareness, cyber defense and space control — a term the Defense Department uses to encompass the offensive and defensive capabilities needed to ensure the U.S. and its allies can safely operate in space. Speaking at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Whiting highlighted a slew of recent efforts — including one by Space Command's Marine Corps component designed to fast-track commercial space domain awareness capabilities. The component found an off-the-shelf capability and, through rapid experimentation that was coupled with funding and testing, helped inform a plan to field a military-tailored solution by 2027. That capability, Whiting said, will help Space Command better track missile threats from China. Space Command is also using Palantir's Maven Smart System to operationalize space combat concepts. It has integrated the AI platform — which integrates software with advanced digital capabilities to help operators distill sensor data and make faster decisions — into its Joint Operations Center, or JOC. The JOC provides a joint operations floor for multiple services and agencies to integrate data and decision-making. The center is using Maven to streamline tactical information between Space Command and its subordinate operations centers, Whiting said. Separately, Space Command has been testing a capability to fuse missile warning and missile defense data in a way that gives operators a single picture of the threat environment. Whiting said the command has since developed an initial data integration layer and plans to install it at the JOC. As it expands on the pilot, the plan is to iteratively feed new capabilities to the center. Whiting also announced a new pilot program to demonstrate sustained space maneuver. In partnership with the Space Force's innovation arm, SpaceWERX, Space Command plans to award 10 firms contracts worth $1.9 million each. 'This effort will continue to invest in the most promising technology from commercial industry to help us solve the sustained space maneuver challenges so we can bring this joint function to the space domain,' he said.
