Tag: space security
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U.S. Intelligence Warns China Could Deploy Orbital Directed-Energy Weapons by Late This Decade
The assessment identifies two distinct threats to systems operating in space. One centers on China’s potential to deploy directed-energy weapons in orbit within the current decade. The other concerns Russia’s ongoing development of counterspace capabilities aimed at satellites. According to the assessment, China’s timeline for fielding space-based directed-energy weapons extends to the end of the…
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Russian Military Satellite Parks Within 5 Kilometers of ICEYE Radar Spacecraft
Defence Blog reported on October 18 that Russian satellite Kosmos 2612 adjusted its orbit on October 16 to close on ICEYE-X36, operated by the US division of the Finnish-founded company. The maneuver follows a pattern of earlier approaches toward the same satellite. Astrophysicist and independent satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell identified the maneuver using updated orbital…
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German Space Command Chief Warns Russian Satellites Are Shadowing Allied Spacecraft
The warning places a senior European military-space official on record describing active on-orbit shadowing by Russian assets, a direct counterspace concern. It also draws attention to how heavily Ukraine’s war effort depends on commercial satellite systems that were never designed to be contested military targets. Traut described Russian military satellites as shadowing allied spacecraft, a…
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Space Force Plans Fall Prototype to Fuse Commercial and Military Orbital Tracking Data
The U.S. Space Force plans to launch a prototype software environment later this fall that will automate the integration of commercial and military space-tracking data. Led by Mission Delta 2, the effort is intended to provide faster indications of new satellite deployments, debris clouds and potentially threatening activity without disrupting the service’s high-accuracy collision-avoidance systems.…
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U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Says Military Must Prepare for Contested Cislunar Space
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on September 16, 2026, that U.S. forces must prepare to operate in contested environments extending to cislunar space. Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, he described the modern battlefield as spanning “from the…
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US Space Force Confirms Operation of On-Orbit Weapons, Emphasizes Deterrence
The U.S. Space Force operates weapons in orbit to defend American and allied forces against space-enabled attacks, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess said during a September 15 address at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The unusually direct acknowledgment broadens the publicly confirmed scope…
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US Space Force Operating On-Orbit Space Control Weapons, Air Force Secretary Says
The U.S. Space Force is operating on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending American and allied forces from hostile action, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said September 14 during the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The disclosure is the Pentagon’s most explicit public acknowledgment that…
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European Commission Targets €65 Billion for Space in 2028–2034 EU Budget
The European Commission wants space activities to receive half of a proposed €131 billion defense, security and space funding envelope for 2028–2034, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said in Paris. The proposed split would direct approximately €65.5 billion to space programs over seven years, substantially elevating space within the European Union’s next…
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MDA Space Introduces Aurora Black Satellite Platform for Secure Military Communications
MDA Space introduced MDA Aurora Black on September 10, 2026, extending its software-defined Aurora satellite product line into the defence market with anti-jamming, GPS spoofing resistance and proximity-monitoring capabilities intended to protect military communications in contested environments. The defence-focused configuration is available across MDA Space’s Aurora broadband and direct-to-device product lines. It combines the existing…
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U.S. Space Command Conducts First Multi-Orbit Dynamic Satellite Maneuver Exercise
U.S. Space Command has completed its first exercise dedicated to dynamically maneuvering operational spacecraft across low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit, testing how military satellites in multiple orbital regimes could be repositioned as part of a coordinated operation. The exercise used actual spacecraft rather than relying solely on simulations. U.S. Space Command…