Russian Killer Satellites

On September 17, Mark Esper, The United States Secretary Of Defense, announced that Moscow and Beijing have created threats within the country. Russia and China were able to develop satellites with directed-energy weapons.

“In space, Moscow and Beijing have turned a once peaceful arena into a warfighting domain.”- Secretary Of Defense Mark Esper.

It’s an effort to exploit American systems and it’s a military advantage. It is believed that the Russian spacecraft was close enough to receive photographic details of the U.S. satellite. It has been suggested that the operation was a run for an attack that would have used small projectiles to destroy aircraft. China and Russia seek longstanding dominance in airpower through structures designed to counter America’s strengths.
As of now, space has become an area for the military, and thousands of satellites continue to launch, they are becoming targeted as well as weapons.

In May of 2020, the Department of the Air Force and Defense Digital Service called upon hackers to view the live satellite. Around the same time as this, the Pentagon’s research funding arm, and the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Agency) announced its Blackjack program. This program would aim to demonstrate advanced technology for satellite constellation autonomy and space mesh networks by using a series of small risk reduction satellites. Currently, space is being highly cramped around the globe, and the killer satellites are one of many concerns for the Pentagon.

Secretary of Defense Esper said that the Pentagon was investigating heavily into technologies that would give the U.S. military advantage in space. Last year the Pentagon invested in $95.3 billion on space and future warfare tech. “Thanks to our largest research and development budget in the department’s history, we are advancing critical technologies to maintain our military edge in areas such as hypersonic weapons, directed energy, and autonomous systems,” said Esper.

Back in 2018, a researcher in defense and engineering, Dr. Michael Griffin, stated that the most efficient way is to provide a solution with high power laser weapons to provide a capability for offensive missions, as well as a low probability of collateral damage. High-powered microwaves can be highly effective for a solution as well.

As of now, engineers and researchers are developing defense satellites in case of emergency attacks from China and Russia. More information will be released once they have developed a solution.