China’s Counterspace Weapons
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A report by the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission provides new details of China’s space-weapons programs, dubbed counterspace arms, that are aimed at destroying or jamming U.S. satellites and limiting American combat operations around the world.
“China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers and directed energy weapons,” a late draft of the commission’s annual report states. “China’s nuclear arsenal also provides an inherent anti-satellite capability.”
China military planners expect to use a combination of kinetic, electronic and cyber attacks against satellites or ground support structures in a conflict.
Two direct-ascent missiles capable of hitting satellites in both lower and higher orbits are under development, the SC-19 and the DN-2. Anti-satellite missile tests were carried out as recently as last year.
The high-orbit DN-2 can hit U.S. Global Positioning Satellites but appears more suited for blowing up U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites. The DN-2 could be deployed in five to 10 years.
The commission report says China’s People’s Liberation Army believes demonstrating capabilities that can damage or destroy satellites is important to deterring adversaries, and that the anti-satellite threat is a more credible deterrent than nuclear arms.
“The PLA assesses U.S. satellites are critical to the United States’ ability to sustain combat operations globally,” the report says. “PLA analysis of U.S. military operations states that ‘destroying or capturing satellites and other sensors will deprive an opponent of initiative on the battlefield and [make it difficult] for them to bring their precision-guided weapons into full play.’”
China is also planning military cyberattacks that can take control of satellites by hacking into the microwave signals used by satellites. Chinese military researchers have written that during a conflict, the PLA will “attempt to conduct computer network attacks against U.S. satellites and ground-based facilities that interact with U.S. satellites,” the report says. China also has acquired a number of electronic ground-based jammers for use against satellites, and in 2006 China fired a high-powered laser that temporarily disrupted a U.S. satellite.
Beijing’s nuclear forces also could be used against satellites. A nuclear detonation in low-earth orbit would create a damaging electromagnetic pulse that could disrupt unshielded satellites.
