Latest news with #USSpaceForce
Daily Mail
a day 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'.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Mark Carney is trapped under Donald Trump's Golden Dome
Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, won over a gullible electorate in April by promising to defend Canada's independence from Donald Trump. He pledged to increase defence spending and boost domestic manufacturing, and bluntly told the US president that Canada was 'not for sale' at a meeting in the Oval Office. Unfortunately for Carney, the rhetoric was easier than the reality. Consider the case of the Golden Dome. Trump signed a large number of executive orders when he returned to the White House in January, including the announcement of an 'Iron Dome for America'. Inspired by Ronald Reagan's unrealised plan to build a defence system against nuclear weapons, it would help protect the US from the 'threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks'. Fittingly, given Trump's penchant for gold, the president's Iron Dome was effectively renamed the Golden Dome in May (perhaps also to distinguish it from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system). The estimated cost has been put at $175 billion (£147 billion), with a down-payment of $25 billion (£18.2 billion) included in a Republican reconciliation spending bill. The project will be headed up by General Michael Guetlein, with the US Space Force, and will apparently take three years to construct. Some are sceptical that the Golden Dome can be built on time and on budget. The congressional budget office has suggested the real costs for constructing constellations of space-based interceptors could be in the range of $161 billion (£117 billion) to $542 billion (£395 billion) over 20 years. Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican Senator, predicted the final price tag could reach 'trillions of dollars'.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
How China is winning the military space race
China is developing 'breathtakingly fast', the United States has warned. Gen Stephen Whiting, the top commander of the US Space Force (USSF), said China's use of space to complete its 'kill chain' – the process of identifying, tracking and attacking a target – had become 'very concerning'. Space warfare capabilities are increasingly critical to the defence strategies of major powers. The United States, China and Russia are locked in an arms race to develop space technology and Donald Trump's administration is planning a 'Golden Dome' network of space-based interceptors to block missiles fired towards the US. Gen Whiting identified three areas of serious concern, where China has advanced rapidly: its space-based targeting system, its space counter-weapons and its integration of space capabilities with its conventional military. Space-based targeting systems Beijing's space-based targeting system, can be used to 'track and target US and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific', Gen Whiting told the Breaking Defence news outlet. These systems can be used to support 'over-the-horizon' precision strikes on US military targets, he said. Gen Anthony Mastalir, commander of USSF in the Indo-Pacific, has also previously said that China's long-range weapons, including those specifically aimed at targeting the US and its allies, 'depend on space'. He added that space tech was how China 'closes its kill chain' and strikes its targets with precision. By the end of last year, China had more than 500 satellites capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), according to the USSF. In the last decade, Beijing has deployed nearly 900 satellites into orbit. Of the 260 launched last year, 67 were capable of ISR. Earlier this year, Chinese scientists developed what was hailed as the world's most powerful satellite tracking camera, capable of capturing images with millimetre-level accuracy from over 100 kilometres away. Counter-weapons and jamming The second way in which China is moving quickly in space is through the development of counter-weapons, or weapons that destroy or jam other satellites, either launched from the ground or from space. According to Gen Whiting, these include 'reversible cyber-attacks, Satcom [satellite communications] and GPS-jamming' as well as high-energy lasers, direct ascent anti-satellite (Da-Sat) rockets, missiles and co-orbital Asats. Asats are satellites put into orbit to threaten other satellites. Da-Asat rockets are an important part of China's growing military arsenal in space. As far back as 2008, China was known to have been capable of shooting down satellites with missiles launched from the ground. Over the last 20 years, it has conducted several such anti-satellite tests. In March, the USSF said Chinese satellites were making controlled synchronised manoeuvres – satellites moving around each other in orbit while in formation. Gen Michael A Guetlein, the deputy chief of US operations at the USSF, said at the time that this showed China was 'practising tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another'. Beijing is known to have between one and three of these programmes, which can also be used to launch kinetic kill vehicles (a weapon based solely on its own kinetic energy) to target objects in space, or co-ordinate collisions. Destroying satellites in orbit puts other satellites at risk by creating debris fields, but jamming can be used to break down capabilities without creating hazards. Jamming technology targets the electronic link between a satellite and its user, putting it out of action without destroying it. Experts have previously warned that the US would be underprepared for attacks involving GPS jamming or 'spoofing', which is when a GPS receiver is manipulated or misled. These technologies can be used to disable munitions, redirect drones and missiles and shut down critical infrastructures. Integration with conventional forces The final area of concern for the US, said Gen Whiting, is China's integration of space capabilities into its conventional army, air force and navy. Gen Whiting said that in 'using space-enabled services' Beijing has made its armed forces ' more lethal, more precise and more far-ranging '. During a major strategic overhaul in 2016, China's military, the People's Liberation Army, added a military aerospace unit to its Strategic Support Force, which was established to oversee 'information-ised conflicts'. In April 2024, the force was split into three independent units: a dedicated aerospace force, a cyberspace army and an information support arm. All this suggests that China is catching up with America. While the US is estimated to have around 8,000 satellites in space, compared with China's 1,000, each nation has about 250 military satellites. In March, Gen Guetlein said: '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.' In May, the US signalled a renewed focus on space-based weapons with the announcement of Mr Trump's golden dome project. The $175 billion (£147 billion) proposal aims to create a network of satellites by 2029 that will detect, track and shoot down missiles fired at the US. This system would probably only cover the US. Should America and China be drawn into a conflict, in Taiwan for example, China could not only have home advantage, but the advantage in space as well.
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Business Standard
2 days 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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Boeing Huntsville, MDA announce successful flight test of new homeland defense radar
ALASKA (WHNT) — Boeing Huntsville said it worked with the Missile Defense Agency to conduct a flight test with a radar on Monday. MDA said in a news release that it worked with the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Northern Command to conduct a flight test in Alaska on Monday. This test, according to MDA, was to determine if the Long Range Discrimination Radar could successfully acquire, track and report missile target data to the Command and Control Battle Management and Communications. According to MDA, the test was a success. The agency said this was the radar's first flight test tracking a live Intercontinental Ballistic Missile representative target. 'The test confirmed that the radar's sensors can accurately gather data from longer distances, enhancing threat detection and response time for the GMD system and other missile defense systems,' Boeing said. Named Flight Test Other-26a, MDA said a target was launched over the northern Pacific Ocean and it flew over '2,000 kilometers off the southern coast of Alaska, where it was tracked by LRDR.' It was also tracked by the Upgraded Early Warning Radar, MDA said. This test was part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System Integration and Test and Readiness contract, awarded to Boeing Huntsville in 2022. 'The GMD system is the only defense program able to protect the entire United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, against long-range ballistic missiles. The system is designed to detect, intercept, and destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles,' Boeing said. 'Initial indications show that LRDR, C2BMC, and GMD Fire Control met mission requirements. Program officials will continue to evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. FTX-26a will support the operational assessment of LRDR, validation of LRDR modeling and simulations.' MDA Why does this test matter? Boeing said the test validated the radar's sensors and its ability to capture precise data from greater distances, improving threat detection and warning time for the GMD system and other missile defense components. 'This was a key test in the development of the LRDR system and its integration into the C2BMC network,' MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said. 'LRDR will provide USNORTHCOM and the United States Space Force with the ability to precisely track ballistic missile threats as well as other space objects, advancing our ability to deter adversaries and bolster our homeland missile defense.' The system has now been on alert for nearly two decades and is an integral part of America's layered ballistic missile defense architecture, Boeing Huntsville said. You can watch a video of the test, provided by MDA here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
