US intelligence: China developing laser anti-satellite weapons as Russian satellites approach ICEYE spacecraft

The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) says in its latest assessment of space threats that China's military likely views directed-energy weapons, including lasers, as "ideal counterspace systems." Such weapons can disable a satellite either temporarily or permanently. The assessment comes amid growing competition among the US, China and Russia over weapons and maneuvering capabilities in orbit.

China's lasers and other capabilities

The DIA reports that China has multiple ground-based laser weapons of varying power that can disrupt, degrade or damage satellites in low-Earth orbit. One possible use would be to dazzle the sensor on an adversary's satellite. The agency says that by the late 2020s China may field space-based directed-energy systems and more powerful ground-based ones able to threaten satellites in higher orbits.

The DIA also points to Chinese tests of ground-based anti-satellite missiles and to last year's demonstration of satellite refueling in geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 kilometers above the equator. According to the agency, no other country has achieved this above low-Earth orbit. China has also tested a robotic arm that could grab a spacecraft out of orbit, and it operates a growing fleet of TJS satellites that routinely approach foreign spacecraft.

US and Russian activity

The US Space Force has a constellation of inspector satellites in geosynchronous orbit and recently bought more that can be refueled. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed last month that the Pentagon has fielded weapons in space, making the United States the first nation to acknowledge possessing orbital weapons.

US intelligence officials say Russia is pursuing its own orbital combat program, including an ambition to put a nuclear weapon in space. A more conventional Russian system, Nivelir, is designed to fire projectiles from one satellite to hit another; the Russian military simulated an attack with it in 2020.

In April, Russia launched a group of small satellites into an orbit close to a commercial radar satellite owned by ICEYE, which provides reconnaissance imagery to Ukraine. US officials said one of the Russian satellites moved within "tens of meters" of the ICEYE satellite earlier this month before backing away.