US Space Force general says it's 'concerning' just how fast China is closing the gap on the space tech that backs modern armies

tkXinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty ImagesChina's rapid progress in developing space-based capabilities is alarming, a US official said recently.China has made dominating the space domain a top military priority.American military leaders have noted some of China's recent game-changing technologies and developments.A US Space Force general said recently that China is rapidly catching up on the space-based capabilities that enable modern armies to fight effectively."It is concerning how fast they've done it," Brig. Gen. Brian Sidari, the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence with the US Space Force, said at Air & Space Forces Association's Air, Space, Cyber Conference last month. China, he added, understands the importance of space because they have studied "how we enable the Joint Force with those space-based capabilities."China's space launches have jumped more than 30% this year over last. After putting 200 satellites into orbit in 2023, it has now doubled its orbital payloads from last year, and it is also building two substantial low-Earth-orbit constellations similar in some ways to Elon Musk's Starlink.These are just a few examples of how China is speeding through its five-year national strategy for space. Launch vehicles have been expanded, satellites are continually being updated, and launch pads are being built for not just more but also faster missions. It has even tested experimental "dogfighting" satellites.TKVCG/VCG via Getty ImagesThe US military says that China is prioritizing the ability to challenge rivals in space, developing systems that could disrupt or destroy satellites. These capabilities include co-orbital satellites, anti-satellite missiles, electronic warfare tools, surveillance platforms, reusable spacecraft, and directed-energy weapons, as the Department of Defense highlighted in its annual report on China's military capabilities.Beijing has spent years investing in its space operations, and a recent reorganization of the military branch that oversaw space — along with other strategic domains like cyberspace and information warfare — suggested an interest in a more streamlined approach to space-related missions.The Pentagon said in its 2024 report on the Chinese military that China's "space enterprise continues to mature rapidly and Beijing has devoted significant resources to growing all aspects of its space program, from military space applications to civil and commercial applications."In terms of where China is compared to the US, officials like Sidari believe it's still not close. "But it is concerning once they figure out that reusable lift" for getting systems into space, he said.Big satellite constellations are a concern, too, the general said. "They've seen how the mega-constellations provide that capability to the US Joint Force and the West, and they're mimicking it, right? So that does concern me of how fast they're going," Sidari said.US military officials say that China has been making significant advances in space. At the conference in September, Chief Master Sgt. Ron Lerch said that some of China's recent space activities, like refueling activities on-orbit with the SJ-25 and SJ-21 satellites earlier this year, were "game-changing for them." But it also highlighted limitations stemming from its inability to launch as frequently as the US. "They don't access space as frequently as we do," he said.Other highlights for China's development of space-based capabilities include last month's launch of Yaogan-45, a remote sensing system that some experts speculate will be used for reconnaissance. China maintains that the Yaogan-45 will mainly be used for scientific experiments, land resource surveys, crop yield estimates, and natural disaster prevention and relief work.TKXinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty ImagesChina often develops military capabilities through a strategy of civil-military fusion, whereby civilian technologies, resources, workforces, and organizations are leveraged to support military objectives.China's "very unusual" placement of its Yaogan-45 system in medium-Earth orbit, along with some other activity, "starts to paint a picture of that they value remote sensing to the point where they want resiliency and layers of it," Lerch said.The satellites China has in space range in function from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to data transmissions to positioning, navigation, and timing. Systems like the Yaogan-45 could help boost Beijing's situational awareness and support military operations, as well as track attacks on the US and its allies and partners.The Pentagon expects China to continue its development of electronic warfare and ground-based anti-satellite weapons to use against enemy satellites, as well as navigation and communication systems."Counterspace actions are intended to deny or disrupt the adversary's use of space that hinders military operations that the PRC deems counter to its national security interests," DoD said in its most recent report on Chinese military capabilities, referring to China by the acronym for the People's Republic of China.Last month, Andrew Hanna and Kathleen Curlee wrote in the Council on Foreign Relations that in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Chinese ground lasers could target US satellites needed to observe Taiwan, plan military actions, and communicate between the military and US allies and partners.TKJade Gao/AFP"Without them, US forces and their allies would struggle to coordinate or respond in the event of a Taiwan conflict, potentially fighting blind," Hanna, a former congressional staffer with the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Curlee, a research analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, wrote.Losing those capabilities could give China an advantage in the conflict that would "shape the outcome before it begins," the authors wrote.In April, the US Space Force set a goal for ensuring that the US military can achieve space superiority, meaning maintaining access to and using space-based capabilities while denying an enemy or adversary the ability to use theirs. The US needs longer-term strategies focused on investment and planning, technology, and partnerships to do that, though.Read the original article on Business Insider

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