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What’s new: China’s announcement of a new anti-satellite weapon.
Why it’s important:
- More evidence that satellites are important and space is not safe.
- If China is talking about this capability to destroy satellites in LEO, what capability do they have they are not talking about?
What else to know:
- Lots of good info in the article about the likely progress of future conflicts.
- The article includes a quote about the importance of being able to navigate without external signals and cites quantum. Yet it will be a long while, if ever, before everyone can have a quantum clock or quantum inertial sensor in their individual user equipment.
China’s ‘Starlink killer’ new cutting edge of microwave weapons
China’s newly unveiled TPG1000Cs made to target satellites, shape a Taiwan fight and test US and allied space deterrence
China’s latest high-power microwave (HPM) breakthrough, a powerful truck-mountable system described by Chinese researchers and Chinese media as a potential counter to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations such as Starlink, signals a shift toward non-kinetic weapons designed to paralyze satellites, command networks, and modern warfare itself.
This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese researchers have developed what they claim is the world’s first HPM weapon compact driver. This device can generate 20 gigawatts of energy for up to 60 seconds.
They believe this breakthrough could pose a threat to large Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, like SpaceX’s Starlink. The team published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Chinese High Power Laser and Particle Beams.
