U.S. Intelligence: China Could Put Laser Weapons in Space by 2030

A recent US intelligence report reveals China's progress in developing energy weapons and spaceplanes for military use in space. The Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) report, published on Sunday, includes an image of a newly developed reusable spaceplane and estimates that China could deploy directed-energy weapons in orbit by the end of the 2020s.

The US DIA has provided a timeline for China's development of space-based energy weapons, noting that Beijing's earthbound energy weapons are already capable of disrupting, degrading, or damaging satellites and will become stronger by the end of the decade, with the potential to impact satellites beyond low Earth orbit. These new space-based weapons would introduce an even more dangerous capability to China's arsenal.

However, not all reports are as alarming as the DIA findings; Victoria Samson, the Director of Space Security and Stability at the Secure World Foundation, stated she finds it surprising if China fields space-based laser weapons by the late 2020s. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been secretive about its spaceplane development but has been more open about its advancements in directed-energy weapons.

In January 2021, the PLA media asserted that laser weapons were entering a golden age, citing temporary sensor blinding as one of their operational uses. China has responded to the US report by accusing Washington of hyping the space threats from China and Russia while accelerating its own military development in orbit. The US Space Force General Stephen Whiting emphasized the importance of survivability in space, stating that US satellites are consistently in an opponent's weapons engagement zone, and their performance will drop to zero if dependent on fragile, targetable supporting infrastructure.

The Pentagon recently unveiled four directed-energy weapons for deployment in a homeland counter-drone pilot, including AeroVironment's Palletized High-Energy Laser, Epirus Leonidas high-powered microwave, Kord's Firefly high-energy laser, and Boeing's Compact Laser Weapon System. The US will be more dependent on space than China in a potential future conflict, according to Brendan Mulvaney, Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute, as disrupting those satellites could disproportionately affect US forces.