The US will "defend and defend" space from its militarization by Russia and China, Acting US Defense Chief Patrick Shanahan said on Tuesday.
“We have to face reality. Our opponents are deploying weapons in space to attack our objects in space. China and Russia have militarized space to jeopardize US space capabilities,”US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday at the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Spings.
According to Shanahan, "the Chinese communist government has already used and continues to increase the ability to jam" the communication capabilities of the United States, and is armed with laser weapons. “We expect them to deploy a ground-based laser system by next year targeting space-based sensors in low Earth orbit,” said the interim head of the department. He noted that the Chinese military has the ability to conduct cyberattacks against US space systems, is armed with ground-based missile launchers capable of destroying satellites, and is actively developing supersonic capabilities. "Russia is doing a lot of this," Shanahan said.
“At the same time, they (Moscow and Beijing) are promoting international agreements at the UN, which, we know, they are not going to follow,” the acting president said. the head of the US defense department.
He assured the audience that the United States is ready to meet the challenges and "must defend and defend space."
US President Donald Trump in February signed an executive order on the creation of the Space Force to repel aggression and protect national interests in space. Russia said that by doing so, the United States creates the preconditions for the militarization of outer space by its intentions to use space for military purposes, and Russia will have to respond to possible threats with mirror and asymmetric measures.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, at the beginning of March called on military scientists to intensify the search and implementation of means of countering possible military actions of a potential enemy in space and from space.
In turn, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the United States, accusing China and Russia of allegedly creating threats in outer space, is actually looking for a pretext to justify its desire for military superiority and the development of advanced weapons.
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