US deploys new anti-satellite jamming system amid China-Russia threat

The United States is watching with concern the growing capabilities of Russia and China in space. According to American intelligence, Beijing has long provided Moscow with geospatial intelligence. Moreover, Chinese satellites are said to observe not only what is happening in Ukraine but also in NATO territories. Americans want to counteract these capabilities and plan to deploy a new ground-based jamming system that will make it difficult for Chinese and Russian satellites to transmit information about US forces during a potential conflict.

In April 2024, the Americans warned allies that China is increasing its support for Russia. This support was said to include providing images from Chinese satellites, as well as microelectronics, optics, and fuel used by the Russian defence industry, including in missile systems. Optical and radar data from over 100 satellites were expected to come from the Chinese company HEAD Aerospace, as well as Spacety, according to Bloomberg at the time.

Bloomberg also pointed out the leasing of several Chinese satellites by Russian state institutions and the Wagner Group. Among the devices were high-resolution satellites Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D12 and 03D13 and related services. The Russians leased these for over £25 million in 2022. The latest American concerns are the ambitions of Russia and China to deploy space weapons that could significantly impact US national security. Beijing and Moscow are said to be getting closer to realizing this idea.

"Both Russia and China view the use of space early on, even before conflict, as important deterrence or coercive capabilities," said Gen. Jeff Kruse, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), during the Aspen Security Forum. "We must be ready for this," he added.

In the face of growing threats in space, Washington plans to deploy a new ground-based jamming system that will make it difficult for Chinese and Russian satellites to transmit information about American forces during conflict. The US Space Force was supposed to test this system in two locations at the beginning of 2024. According to Bloomberg, the system's goal is not to jam the work of satellites but to "responsibly counter the opponent's satellite communication capabilities that enable attacks."

According to a statement from the US Space Force, Americans intend to deploy 24 Remote Modular Terminal jammers in undisclosed locations by the end of 2024. The system is supposed to complement other satellite signal jamming weapons, the Counter Communications System, and Meadowlands. The Americans assure that this solution will allow blocking space attacks on the USA and allied forces in a way that does not destroy satellites in space. They also emphasise that the system is purely defensive.

If this system's action is purely defensive, it can be considered the opposite of the solution being developed by Russia and China. Moscow aims to develop nuclear space weapons. Some time ago, astrophysicist Dr Marcin Gawroński, in an interview with WP Tech, emphasised that it is a double-edged sword that can lead to the destruction of all satellites, not individual selected devices.

"Anti-satellite nuclear weapons are a double-edged sword. If you use them, it's not about direct kinetic destruction but about generating an electromagnetic pulse with high-energy particles that will damage or burn satellite electronics. Of course, military satellites have better or worse technological protections that are not disclosed. Still, all communication and civilian observations, scientific research, everything near Earth, could be destroyed," explained the expert.