Chinese roving space anti-satellite missiles stalk the US sats

WASHINGTON, US — Undoubtedly, the Pentagon Leaks [the term used for the leakage of classified documents from the Pentagon and the State Department] are doing a lot of damage to American intelligence right now. Revealing what the U.S. knows, assesses, and analyzes on the international political-military scene shows that in some ways the U.S. is unprepared to respond to a perceived threat.

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One part of the Pentagon Leaks presents the difficult situation facing Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. US intelligence confirms Taiwan is vulnerable, according to the Washington Post. However, the leaked documents show that the US is also vulnerable to a conflict between China and Taiwan.

It is no secret that Washington will try to protect Taipei. One way is by providing intelligence. This means active use of US satellites. They are also currently used to provide data to the Ukrainian armed forces. Could China attack US satellites at the start of a potential conflict with Taiwan?

What Pentagon Leaks say?

The answer is yes. According to the leaked documents, US intelligence suggests that Beijing will try to attack and shoot down US satellites. China has space capabilities that can affect US intelligence.

Something more. According to US intelligence, China may even use its own satellites to launch long-range strikes on US ships in the region. But not only ships will be vulnerable – submarines and aircraft carriers scattered in the Pacific Ocean will “light up” like a lamp in a dark room.

What does this scenario predict?

This is the worst situation for Taiwan and the US in the Pacific. In reality, Japan and Australia will also be deprived of the data stream. Of course, these two rustlers have their own satellites, but if you break the chain once, then you risk the whole thing tumbling like dominoes.

Dean Cheng, a foreign senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, echoes this sentiment. According to him, if China succeeds in “deactivating” American satellites, the situation in the region will become “much bloodier”. Mr. Dean expects China to sink more ships, shoot down more planes and kill more Taiwanese soldiers.

Is China capable of this?

The last known experience of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army with the ASAT [Anti-Satellite Weapons] system was in 2007. Since then, Beijing has not tested any anti-satellite systems.

But a 2020 State Department report said Beijing was making serious progress in pointing missile and laser weapons at low-orbit satellites. What’s more, according to the US military, China already has such missiles that can shoot down satellites in low orbit.

According to the EurAsian Times, China may even have nuclear anti-satellite weapons. This claim is based on a study by the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology in Xi’an. Scientists at this institute have developed a model for assessing the damage when using a nuclear weapon in space. According to the results, if a nuclear warhead with a 10-megaton charge is detonated at an altitude of 80 km, the missile does not even need to hit the satellite. The satellite will be damaged only by the effects of the detonated nuclear warhead.

‘The Rabbit Hole’

To realize how serious the concerns of American intelligence are, we need to go deeper. We must enter the “rabbit hole” and see what awaits us there. And what awaits us is perhaps more advanced Chinese technology than that of the Americans.

First, China already has its own space station. No one knows at present what the secret developments at this station are. No one knows if the station is not armed with some kind of weapon, or if it plays a key role in communicating with Chinese satellites.

Second, there are reports of what anti-satellite systems Beijing is developing. According to observers, China is developing these weapons in the realm of kinetic physical, non-kinetic physical, electronic, or cybernetic. These technologies, along with China’s existing space station, aim to build capabilities to asymmetrically challenge US space superiority.

DEW system

DEW is the third unknown in the Chinese equation. It is known about, it has been developed, it has been produced, but this system has no shared characteristics and capabilities. Beijing is jealously guarding what the system’s capabilities are.

What do we know about her then? We know it’s a non-kinetic physically directed energy weapon. I.e. in short it is a directed energy anti-aircraft system. There are already such developments, both in the USA and in Russia and Israel. DEW in a ground system.

The problem is that Beijing is developing a space version. If he manages to get the development done by 2027 [observers predict that China will attack Taiwan by that year] and upload it to its space station, the US will not be able to react to a satellite attack because there will be no warning of one.

Taiwan

Pentagon Leaks reveal that Taiwan will not be able to counter China. These documents reveal the ugly truth – Taiwan’s air defense won’t even reveal the exact firing of Chinese missiles toward the island. These are words from leaked documents coming not from American intelligence, but from Taiwanese intelligence.

In the air, the situation is similar. According to reports from the Pentagon Leaks, half of Taiwan’s fighter jets are not fully fit for the mission. The situation is so complex that it will take at least a week for Taiwan to deploy its warplanes, move them, or hide them. A time that is in China’s favor.

Pentagon Leaks suggest that within a week the Chinese Air Force could establish control over the entire island. Something Russia wanted to do at the beginning of the war with Ukraine, but failed.

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