General Michael Guetlein, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for the US Space Force, says Chinese satellites have been observed performing advanced “dogfighting” maneuvers in orbit, Newsweek reports.
While these drills are not overtly aggressive, they have raised concerns about Beijing’s potential to disrupt or damage satellites and, by extension, the communications relied on by billions of people worldwide.
The exercises also highlight the rapid narrowing of the technological gap between China and the US. In recent years, China has risen to the status of a space power fueled by massive state investments in research and development.
China has built its own space station, became the first nation to land a probe on the far side of the Moon, and is racing against NASA’s Artemis program to land a crewed mission on the Moon with plans for a potential permanent base. China is also building a satellite communications network to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.
“With our commercial assets, we have observed five different objects in space maneuvering in and out around each other in synchronicity and in control. That’s what we call ‘dogfighting’ in space,” explained Guetlein.
He added that they were practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to conduct satellite-to-satellite operations in orbit.
Guetlein stressed that the US must maintain its space superiority, particularly to safeguard the Pacific Fleet and Joint Forces Command.
“What keeps me up at night is the pace that the adversary—or the threat—is changing every single day. It is an eye-watering pace. It requires our guardians to be on their A-game every single day,” he said.
According to Defense News, citing a Space Force official, the maneuvers involved five experimental satellites—three Shiyan-24C and two Shijian-605 A and B.
The growing capabilities of US strategic rivals have sparked concern in Washington.
Meanwhile, US officials have also accused Russia of jamming signals from US military satellites and deploying so-called “matryoshka” satellites capable of firing projectiles to stalk and potentially disable space assets.
While Russia, a long-established space power, has been central to these concerns, many view China as the longer-term threat — a rising military power that, in some areas, is surpassing the US in the race for dominance in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. China’s technically sophisticated maneuvers last year may only reinforce perceptions of Beijing as a growing threat.
Related:
- After failed mineral deal, Trump proposes US takeover of Ukrainian nuclear plants
- ISW: Russia and Ukraine have not finalized long-range strikes ceasefire
- UK to host closed meeting on Ukraine peacekeeping force
- Politico: Putin agrees to hockey games with Trump while rejecting full ceasefire in Ukraine
