The U.S. Space Force is close to wielding new weapons designed to jam Chinese and Russian satellites in orbit, according to new Space Force data published by Bloomberg this week.
The new weapons, dubbed the Meadowlands and the Remote Modular Terminal, will be able to jam the satellites remotely from almost anywhere in the world, Bloomberg reports. China has an estimated 1,200 satellites in orbit around the Earth, about 500 of which are used for “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” according to a Space Force fact sheet.
Chinese spy satellites are routinely used to track U.S. Navy ship movements and deployed forces across the globe, according to the fact sheet.
“The PLA is improving space-based capabilities combined with its growing arsenal of standoff weaponry to enable long-range precision strikes against U.S. and allied forces,” the fact sheet reads.
The Meadowlands system is under final live-fire testing while the Remote Modular Terminal is being deployed in undisclosed “fielded locations,” the Space Force told Bloomberg Monday. While both systems are still in the early phases, Space Force says both could be “operationally employed” in their current form.
China has made considerable investments in their space program to compete with the U.S., who has held space dominance since the space race in the 1960s. The Space Force was created under President Donald Trump’s first term to respond to the changing threat landscape just outside the atmosphere, delegating the space theater of war to its own branch instead of looping those responsibilities into the Air Force.
Since 2015, China’s orbital presence has increased by over 900%, according to the fact sheet.
The Space Force did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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