Why is the US far behind Russia and China in the space warfare domain?
An Advanced Extremely High Frequency System. (Photo: US Space Force)
While Beijing and Moscow have been working on anti-satellite weapons at an accelerated speed, Washington still does not have capabilities to defeat them, with one US legislator describing the situation as “the Cuban Missile Crisis in space”.
The US military appears not to have made significant progress in developing capabilities to counter anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) while Russia and China have been rapidly advancing in the domain. The absence of solutions and technologies to protect Washington’s space assets has placed the country in a dangerous position, US lawmakers stated.
In a recent hearing at the House Armed Services Committee, lawmakers alerted the risks the situation poses to the US.
Republican Representative Jeff Crank (Colorado) stressed that the US adversaries “are moving at full speed” in this domain.
“This is a matter of great national security and importance,” Crank stated.
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