Yes, and then consider China’s rather robust expansion into the development of “Satellite Killers”. A first, or retaliatory, strike against our communication, GPS/navigation and weather satellites would be a hell of a force multiplier.
“Perhaps the most worrying part of the report from a US perspective is the section talking about Chinese counterspace capabilities,” said Brian Weeden, the Secure World Foundation‘s technical advisor. “The tough question is what to do, [and] some of the potential options could make the situation worse instead of better.”
The report discusses three apparent tests of Chinese anti-satellite systems (ASAT), not just the well-known two. Everyone knows about China’s 2007 test when it destroyed its own defunct satellite, scattering debris that continues to orbit the planet and threaten space assets of every country. A fair number of people know that in 2014, China conducted what the Pentagon called a “successful” test of the same system, albeit without actually destroying a target, to everyone’s relief.
But very few people know that in May 2013, China launched something else: a mysterious object that nearly reached geosynchronous orbit, the ultra-high altitude where crucial communications satellites hang out. Based on its trajectory, the system couldn’t have been intended to launch satellites or traditional research missions. Instead, the Pentagon report says and Weeden’s own analysis confirms, it could have been an anti-satellite system able to reach altitudes three times higher than the weapon tested in 2007 and 2014.
Ed L. and Fox, thanks for some food for thought. I now know more about Chinese anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles.
Plus, thanks to AKDoug, I know where Attu is located and have concluded that the Chinese were not steaming off Alaska so our President could motor out and have a clandestine meeting in order to map out their plans for hegemony.