What the report says
The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) examines China's military space strategy, satellite networks and weapons development in its report "Challenges to Security in Space 2026: Congestion, Competition, and Cooperation." The report has an information cutoff of July 2026.
According to the DIA, China has several ground stations carrying lasers capable of disrupting, degrading or damaging satellites in low Earth orbit. The agency expects that by the late 2020s Beijing could field space-based directed-energy weapons and stronger ground-based lasers able to target satellites in higher orbits.
Threats to satellites
The report says these weapons could temporarily or permanently blind imaging satellites and interfere with sensors used for missile warning and weather monitoring. China also plans to deploy more anti-satellite missiles able to destroy spacecraft in low, medium and high orbits.
- A 2013 launch reached 30,000 kilometers in altitude, suggesting a potential capability against geosynchronous satellites, though the DIA does not describe it as confirmed.
- A 2007 test that destroyed an old weather satellite created more than 3,500 pieces of trackable debris; over 2,400 of them remain in orbit as a collision hazard.
Dual-use satellites and jamming
The DIA also highlights space projects that can service spacecraft but could be turned against them. In January 2022 the Shijian-21 satellite moved an old BeiDou navigation satellite into a graveyard orbit above geosynchronous orbit.
The agency says TJS-3 approached other countries' satellites within 10 kilometers multiple times in 2023, a pattern it assessed as largely inconsistent with its stated mission. Jamming is another route: China is probably developing jamming technologies covering several satellite communication bands, including extremely high frequencies used by the US military.
No nuclear anti-satellite weapon
According to the report, there is no indication that Beijing plans to test or develop a nuclear anti-satellite weapon for use in space. The DIA assesses that Chinese leaders probably judge such a move would damage the country's economic interests and risk uncontrolled escalation.
