Issue 88

11 Dec 2023: Kristin Burke of the China Aerospace Studies Institute released her paper exploring command and control of a variety of China’s counterspace weapons. Ms Burke poses 2 questions to 6 types of counterspace weapons: 1) Who in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will operate counterspace weapons in wartime? and 2) Who will task the operators and how will the operators use counterspace weapons in wartime? Interestingly her research indicates that likely not all counterspace weapons will be operated by the Strategic Support Force (SSF) with many remaining under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) or Theater Command (TC) commanders. Excerpts below. Read FULL REPORT for yourself!

– The six categories of counterspace weapons are: 1) Direct Ascent Anti-Satellite Missiles (DA ASAT); 2) Directed Energy Counterspace Weapons; 3) Terrestrially Based Satellite Electronic Jammers; 4) Space-based Grappling Counterspace Weapons; 5) Offensive Cyber Counterspace Weapons; and 6) Space Based Electronic Jammers.

– Limited experimental space-based counterspace weapons are probably operated exclusively by the SSF’s Space Systems Division (SSD).

– People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Theater Command (TC) commanders may have more ease in tasking low-powered directed energy counterspace weapons and some network-electromagnetic spectrum weapons than terrestrially-based satellite electronic jammers.

– It seems that while terrestrially-based satellite electronic jammers are prevalent across the TCs, the CMC must pre-approve specific usage, in order to limit spectrum interference within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

– Reversible satellite laser dazzling and weapons to disable systems using space information, such as microwave weapons and network-electromagnetic spectrum weapons, can probably be readily tasked at the TC level.

– There is limited publicly available information to support that the SSF is the service training with direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missiles. Rather, there is more information to support those missiles may be operated by other PLA services.

– DA-ASAT missiles potentially could be deployed from many more places than expected, the PLA’s primary intention for the missiles is to be a credible deterrent, and only the CMC would cautiously approve their use…there is evidence to indicate that the SSF is not the exclusive owner of those <DA-ASAT> mobile launchers.

– CMC consent for usage of other types of counterspace weapons seems to depend on if the

weapons’ effects go beyond the theater of use.

– CMC probably directs cyberattacks on satellite ground stations in theater, especially attacks to deliver malware to adversary satellites, because of the beyond-theater effects.

– On-orbit satellite jamming is the one counterspace weapon this report found to be operated exclusively by the SSF.

– On-orbit grappling is unlikely to be used as a counterspace weapon until those systems can be miniaturized.

– The PLA seems to be modeling the United States in developing a dedicated unit to conduct defensive and offensive orbital warfare, like Space Force Delta 9, and orbital warfare exercises like Red Skies.

Wartime operation of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) counterspace weapons highly likely continues to be spread across PLA services, as well as the Strategic Support Force (SSF)….not all counterspace weapons are managed by the SSF.