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Washington: The US Space Force has revealed plans to deploy its jammers designed to jam satellite signals in the Indo-Pacific. It warns that it could turn into an electronic war with China after Donald Trump becomes president. Kelly Hammett, director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, said last month that the system, known as Remote Modular Terminal (RMT), is designed to disrupt the “kill chain.”
The primary target of this jammer is China’s Extended Satellite Surveillance Network, which specifically includes Yaogan series satellites. The U.S. Space Operations Command has approved the first phase of deployment of the jammer, with 11 expected to be deployed initially. Eventually the US Army plans to deploy up to 200 devices, focusing on the Indo-Pacific.
According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, China’s Yaogan series of satellites can track objects as small as a car from space. In addition, these satellites are capable of providing continuous surveillance over the US Indo-Pacific Command.
At the SpacePower Conference in Florida last month, several senior U.S. military officials highlighted the growing importance of space. Brigadier General Anthony Mastalir, the Space Force Indo-Pacific commander, acknowledged at the event that China’s satellite network has helped it monitor US and allied forces and potentially exploit vulnerabilities.
“Officials have not wavered in terms of their discomfort with the advancement of Chinese military space capabilities, especially given the lack of transparency in terms of China’s priorities and goals,” said Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation.
Malcolm Davis, a space security expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Indo-Pacific was key to undermining China’s anti-access and area denial operations, which relied on satellite surveillance.
“If the U.S. deploys it, the Chinese will deploy similar capabilities,” Davis said. “What emerges is effectively an electronic warfare. The ‘first electronic-warfare battle’ takes place before or at the start of any future war.
“China will try to develop counter-electronic warfare capabilities to identify, detect and attack these jammers, either by kinetic means — i.e. missiles — or by non-kinetic methods, such as guided electronic warfare attacks on jammers,” he said. ”
“Based on what we have seen in Ukraine, where Russia has repeatedly tried to jam Starlink, we should expect to see the use of communications jamming in future conflicts,” said Clayton Swapp, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS.
“This starts a cat-and-mouse game where each side tries to counter with better jammers and more jam-resistant signals,” he added. He added that jamming can become an “acceptable grey-zone tactic” – which increases pressure on the adversary without resorting to direct warfare – because it involves “little risk of escalation”.
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