China could possibly be planning to assault US satellites from the Moon, a US House Drive commander mentioned, amid rising US considerations about China’s house program.
Protection One reported the feedback from Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of US House Forces Indo-Pacific, who mentioned China’s lunar exploration program at a convention Monday.
“From a navy perspective, I’m interested by, are there assault vectors that we’ve not thought-about or that we have to contemplate, whether or not it is xGeo or cislunar or in any other case?” Mastalir mentioned.
XGeo is House Drive jargon for all of outer house past geosynchronous orbit, a degree some 22,000 miles above the Earth’s floor.
Cislunar refers back to the a part of house between the Earth and the moon.
Mastalir mentioned that he stays most targeted on potential battle on Earth, however that China’s moon technique wanted pressing consideration.
“For now I would be extra involved nearly what these new orbits, a moon presence—what that does for potential assault vectors to our conventional working orbits,” he mentioned.
The US has hundreds of satellites in orbit, that are used for a variety of civilian and navy functions. It additionally has cislunar satellites used to observe ballistic missile threats.
US officers are more and more sounding the alarm about China’s navy plans in house. Common Stephen Whiting, the top of US House Command, at a congressional listening to in February mentioned that China’s navy capabilities in house have been rising at a “breathtaking tempo.”
China “is rising its navy house and counterspace capabilities at breathtaking tempo to disclaim American and allied house capabilities once they so select,” he mentioned.
China has pushed again on the claims, with a spokesman in February accusing the US of constructing the accusations “as an excuse to increase its personal navy energy,” Bloomberg reported.
As a part of China’s rising house exploration program, it is aiming to take astronauts to the moon by the tip of the last decade. Some specialists consider that China’s exploration plans are actually a part of a technique to say possession of the moon.
Richard Fisher of the Worldwide Evaluation and Technique Heart lately advised Newsweek final 12 months that China may search to make use of its presence on the Moon for financial and navy functions.
“From the moon, China can higher surveil cislunar house and likewise station laser or missile techniques to assault essential American satellites in deep house,” Fisher advised the publication.
However different specialists consider Chinese language management of the moon stays extremely unlikely.
“If China assumes management over some a part of the moon, it will be a dangerous, costly and very provocative motion,” wrote R. Lincoln Hines, Svetla Ben-Itzhak in an article for House.Com.
