Based Underground is now a conservative news aggregator AND curated newsletter.
The head of the U.S. Space Force, Gen. Chance Saltzman, says that China has launched numerous satellites in the past six months and currently possesses 347 orbiting crafts capable of gathering intelligence on American armed forces.
The general warned that China is the “most immediate threat” to U.S. operations in space given its development of technologies such as lasers to disrupt satellite sensors, electronic warfare jammers, and even building crafts that can potentially disrupt rival orbiting platforms.
Saltzman stated that China’s ultimate goal is to become the most dominant space-faring nation by 2045, a part of its plan for a fully modernized, world-class military, the UK’s Daily Mail noted.
“Over the last six months, China conducted 35 launches adding advanced communications and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites to their orbital architecture,” he noted in a written statement to the Senate Armed Service Subcommittee on Strategic Forces earlier this week. “Of China’s over 700 operational satellites in orbit, 347 are People’s Liberation Army ISR platforms providing optical, radar, and radio-frequency capabilities which track the Joint Force worldwide.”
Senior U.S. commanders have issued repeated warnings that China’s advancements in space technology, such as the development of reusable rockets, pose a threat to U.S. dominance in space. Chinese officials have even compared the moon and Mars to the disputed islands in the South China Sea that Beijing is trying to assert its sovereignty over, the report said.
“Both China and Russia continue to develop, field and deploy a range of weapons aimed at U.S. space capabilities,” Saltzman told the Senate panel. “The spectrum of threats to U.S. space capabilities includes cyber warfare activities, electronic attack platforms, directed energy lasers designed to blind or damage satellite sensors, ground-to-orbit missiles to destroy satellites and space-to-space orbital engagement systems that can attack U.S. satellites in space.”
He added that both Russia and China have studied how the U.S. has become reliant on its satellites to conduct warfare.
“Whether it’s our precision navigation and timing, whether it’s satellite communications, the missile warning that we rely on and the intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance persistence that we have with space capabilities… they know we rely on that and so if they can blind us, if they can interfere with those capabilities, or God forbid, destroy them completely, they know that that will diminish our advantages and put the joint force at risk,” said the four-star Space Force commander.
“So I can see interfering with, I can see blinding, I can see some of those grey area kinds of attacks on our capabilities to try and put us behind the eight ball,” he noted further.
China’s rapid economic growth in recent years has allowed them to invest heavily in its space program, leading to significant advancements in its space military capabilities. As China races to the final frontier, its space program has become a point of interest for military analysts and governments around the world.
With the launch of Beijing’s first space station and the successful landing of a rover on the far side of the moon, China has demonstrated its ability to compete with other space-faring nations. However, their military activities in space have raised concerns and sparked debates about their intentions and the potential for an arms race in space.
As for the U.S., Saltzman said the Pentagon will be switching from bigger, more vulnerable geostationary satellites to constellations of smaller satellites that will be deployed in low-to-medium earth orbit.
“With regards to grappling satellites and pulling them out of orbit, much tougher to deal with when you have less than maneuverable older legacy satellites,” he told senators. “So again, shifting to a proliferated [low earth orbit] constellation where you don’t have what Gen. Hyten called a ‘big juicy target’ sitting there in a [geostationary orbit] makes that a much tougher proposition for them to execute against.”
Sources include:
Mysterious “Skyquakes” Are Causing Strange “Booms” in the Sky, and Scientists Have No Explanation
by Michael Snyder
(End of the American Dream)—What is causing the extremely loud “booms” that people are hearing in the sky all over the world? We are being told that “skyquakes” are responsible, but scientists have no idea why these “skyquakes” are occurring. In some cases, the “skyquakes” cause such powerful shaking that…
The Biggest Sale on Long-Term Storage Beef EVER
by Sponsored Post
Let’s cut to the chase. Prepper All-Naturals is offering an unprecedented 40% off for it’s “Beef Steak” survival bags with promo code “steak40”. With a 25-year shelf life and a single ingredient (beef, of course), our most popular product is available for a very limited time with the biggest discount…
Seattle Is Ordered to Stop Blocking Illegal Alien Deportations in the Most Hilarious Court Decision Ever
by PJ Media
A federal court has just pooped in the oatmeal of the West Coast, Messed Coast™governors and local election officials suffering from acute cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome who think they can stop illegal alien deportations. And after this hilarious and thorough legal takedown from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,…
Illegal Alien Terror Suspect Found Dead in Cook County Jail Cell
by Slay News
An Islamic illegal alien has been found dead in his jail cell after being arrested on terrorism charges. According to CWBChicago, 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi was found dead at the Cook County jail in Illinois on Saturday. Abdallahi was arrested on felony terrorism and hate crime charges in October. He…
Trump’s Wild Bunch Is Ready for Action
by Frank Miele
If for no other reason than that it will elicit fear in the hearts of autocracy-phobics, I propose that Donald Trump’s second-term Cabinet be known as “The Wild Bunch.” The name is best known as the title of Sam Peckinpah’s classic 1969 western featuring a colorful cast of aging outlaws…
FAA Issues Flight Restrictions Over Questionable Drone Activity Near Trump’s Bedminster Golf Course
by Just The News
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday said that it has issued two flight restrictions on the area surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, following questionable drone activity. The drone sightings were first reported on Nov. 18, but have continued into this week, according to Fox…
Ex-FBI Agent Convicted for Stealing From Jan 6 Defendant During Raid
by Trending Politics
A former Houston-based FBI agent has been convicted of stealing valuables and cash while conducting searches. In one instance, the agent stole cash and silver bars from a non-violent January 6 defendant’s home. Nicholas Anthony Williams, 36, was indicted on January 31 in the Southern District of Texas. Williams, who…
Democrats, Media Elite Urge Biden to Pardon Trump’s Alleged ‘Enemies List’
by Breitbart
President Joe Biden should issue preemptive pardons to his political allies and those deemed to be on President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged “enemies list,” Democrats and their media allies believe. Delivering a preemptive pardon indicates an admission of guilt, although Democrats claim a preemptive pardon would only be intended to block…
Fani Willis Forced to Release All Communications With Jack Smith, J6 Committee
by Trending Politics
The Fulton County Superior Court has ruled against District Attorney Fani Willis, ordering her to disclose communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6 Committee. The decision, announced on Tuesday, follows a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, which accused Willis of violating Georgia’s…
Lindsey Graham Is the Warmongering NeoCon Leading the Charge to Upend Pete Hegseth
by JD Rucker
Pete Hegseth represents a shift away from the wokeness that has infected the United States military. This is possibly the biggest reason President-Elect Donald Trump tapped him to be the next Secretary of Defense and the vast majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill can support this, at least for the…
‘Where Are Black Democrats?’: Charles Payne Tells Personal Story to Call Out ‘Huge Double Standard’ of Biden Family
by Nicole Silverio, DCNF
(DCNF)—Fox Business host Charles Payne called out the alleged “huge double standard” of President Joe Biden’s family Tuesday by revealing that his brother, who struggles with a crack addiction, is currently serving a jail sentence. Payne said his brother, who is getting out of jail on Friday, is likely one…
Zelensky Admits Ukraine Can’t Retake All Its Land: ‘We Must Seek Diplomatic Means’
by Breitbart
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded in an interview on Tuesday that Ukraine does not have “enough forces” to restore sovereignty over Russian-occupied Crimea and “must seek diplomatic means” to end the Russian invasion and regain its land. The state-run Ukrinform outlet reported that Zelensky described Crimea – which Russia colonized…
Ultra-Processed Foods: How Bad Are They for Your Health?
by Olivia Cook
(Natural News)—Despite the serious health risks associated with eating junk food, they remain the most consumed food products in many countries, particularly developed ones. But a review published in The BMJ, which studied 9.8 million people, warns that eating a lot of ultra-processed foods can increase your risk for 32 diseases. Among these are heart…
“Already Pretty Far Down the Line”: The Container Store Could File for Bankruptcy as Soon as Next Year
by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
(Zero Hedge)—As the retail apocalypse that started with Amazon and e-commerce continues, the latest victim is The Container Store. The retail giant could file for bankruptcy as soon as next year, according to the New York Post, who said the retailer is blaming its recent descent on “a weak housing…
Mysterious ‘Car-Sized Drones’ Over New Jersey Prompt FBI Investigation
by Zero Hedge
Several weeks of mysterious drone swarms over the skies of one New Jersey county near the military research and manufacturing facility Picatinny Arsenal have sparked concerns among residents and prompted an FBI investigation. “It’s kind of unsettling,” Mike Walsh, a Morris County resident who has spotted the drones on numerous…
UNESCO’s New Mission: Train Influencers About Combatting Online “Misinformation”
by Reclaim the Net
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is now incorporating teaching influencers how to “fact check” into its activities. UNESCO claims that influencers have become “primary sources of news and cultural information” around the world – which prompted it to carry out a survey into how these online personalities…