Additional Coverage:
- ‘Mind-boggling’: Space Force chief fires off dire warning about Chinese capability to knock out US satellites (foxnews.com)
Space Force General Sounds Alarm on China’s “Mind-Boggling” Space Advances
General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, expressed serious concerns about China’s rapid advancements in space capabilities, warning that the U.S. risks losing its dominance in orbit. Testifying before the U.S.-China Commission, Saltzman described China’s progress as “mind-boggling.”
He highlighted China’s substantial investments in both ground-based and space-based weaponry, including kinetic strike weapons, radio-frequency jammers, and directed energy weapons – all designed to cripple enemy satellites. In contrast, Saltzman pointed to the U.S. as “resource limited,” still evaluating which countermeasures offer the greatest utility.
This testimony comes as Congress grapples with how to address China’s increasing aggression in space and whether the Space Force has the resources to keep up. China has boosted its military spending by 7% this year, amassing anti-satellite missiles and claiming possession of directed energy weapons capable of disrupting satellite signals.
Saltzman underscored the catastrophic global consequences of a Chinese anti-satellite test in orbit, citing the persistent debris from Russia’s 2021 test and China’s 2007 test, which continue to pose a threat to spacecraft.
China’s ability to target assets in space has grown significantly, according to Saltzman, with hundreds of satellites now tracking U.S. spacecraft. This development has created a new mission for the Space Force: preventing China from surveilling American satellites.
Despite these growing threats, Saltzman warned that the U.S. is falling behind. The Space Force budget has decreased, even as space becomes an increasingly contested military domain.
He criticized lawmakers for an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality towards space, emphasizing that the modern battlefield must include the space domain. He stressed that the inability to protect or deny adversary access to space will impact military objectives in other domains.
Saltzman frankly stated, “I believe we have more missions unfunded than funded,” highlighting the Space Force’s lack of resources to fulfill its expanding responsibilities. He pointed to China’s operational quantum satellite, capable of enabling ultra-secure communications and advanced navigation, while the U.S. lacks such technology.
China’s investments in space-based technology for long-range precision strikes and reusable launch vehicles represent a turning point in space access, potentially allowing China to surpass U.S. leadership, Saltzman warned. He also highlighted recent revelations from Space Force Vice Chief of Operations, General Michael Guetlein, about China’s practice of satellite “dogfighting,” demonstrating its growing ability to conduct complex maneuvers in orbit. Guetlein described observing Chinese satellites maneuvering around each other in synchronized and controlled formations, calling it “dogfighting in space” and evidence of their practice of on-orbit operations.