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China comes up with attack plan for Elon Musk’s Starlink-like satellites
China’s People Liberation Army has deployed its submarine with a laser weapon installed in its midsection to counter military threats to Beijing including Elon Musk’s Starlink which has been covering the space above the Earth with its satellites.
According to the South China Morning Post, China can destroy SpaceX’s Starlink satellites if China’s security is at risk.
In a study by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) scientists led by Wang Dan, a professor with the Naval Submarine Academy, said that for anti-satellite missions, the biggest challenge was not hitting the satellite, but hiding the attack as missile launches are often accompanied by long trails of smoke.
“Taking the satellites launched by the Starlink programme as an example, they are numerous, densely packed, and small in size, making the satellite network extremely resilient. Even if a significant number of satellites are destroyed, there are redundancies to replace them. Therefore, using missiles to attack such satellites is highly inefficient,” Wang’s team said in a peer-reviewed paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal, Command Control & Simulation.
“Submarine-based laser weapons can solve these issues”
The paper detailed a step-by-step guide to attacking Starlink-like satellites at sea.
“First, one or several submarines equipped with laser weapons are deployed to the sea area where the operation is to be conducted. They enter the target sea area according to the command instructions and wait for the satellites to come within their attack range. The time to raise the laser weapon is determined based on the previously acquired satellite overhead time,” they wrote.
“When the satellite enters the attackable range, the laser weapon is raised. Due to the limitations of the submarine’s detection equipment, other forces are required to provide satellite position guidance for the submarine to attack the satellite. After the attack is completed, the submarine can submerge and wait for the next mission or return to the home port,” it said.
Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited China in April and sought Beijing’s approval for the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China and the transfer of its data overseas, according to a Reuters report.
Although China works with Tesla’s boss, it sees his SpaceX company as a threat.
According to official data released this month, China has more than 900 satellites in orbit. The US has seven times that number, most of them part of Starlink.
In 2021, two Starlink satellites dangerously approached the Chinese space station, prompting astronauts to initiate emergency evacuation procedures. The incident convinced Beijing that the US could use these cheap satellites to hit China’s expensive space assets.
The Starlink satellites primarily serve communication purposes, but recent success in SpaceX’s Starship rocket test flight has prompted speculation among Chinese military analysts. They suggest future Starlink iterations could potentially carry additional payloads for military functions like reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Concerns are further fueled by the Starshield initiative, a collaboration between the Pentagon and SpaceX aimed at monitoring China’s hypersonic weapons.
The advancement of laser weaponry poses significant technological challenges, including energy storage and optical precision. Despite these hurdles, China has accelerated its research efforts and achieved notable breakthroughs, particularly since the use of Starlink in the Ukraine conflict.
Recent innovations include robust power systems capable of supporting dense launches, compact yet powerful solid-state lasers, and advanced optical fiber technology enabling high-quality power transmission exceeding 10,000 watts. Researchers have also explored applications such as creating surface air bubbles on submarines to reduce drag and generating silent shock waves for propulsion.
According to studies by Chinese scientists, submarines equipped with laser weapons could potentially engage in a variety of missions, from anti-satellite operations to escorting merchant ships and conducting strategic strikes on land-based targets like radars and oil storage facilities. They propose that even a modest 150-kilowatt submarine-based laser could disable anti-submarine aircraft detection systems within seconds over a range of more than 20 kilometers.
Strategic missile submarines, critical for nuclear deterrence, are vulnerable to aerial threats. Submarines armed with laser weapons could safeguard these assets by disrupting or disabling satellite surveillance systems, thereby concealing missile launch activities during nuclear counter-attack missions.
Additionally, submarines offer advantages over surface warships for escorting merchant vessels due to their stealth, endurance, and autonomous navigation capabilities. Equipped with laser weapons, they could defend against aerial threats targeting merchant ships and engage enemy surface vessels using anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, SCMP said in its report.
Moreover, submarines could be deployed to disrupt enemy ports, targeting oil storage facilities and critical infrastructure. Such actions could potentially impact enemy economies and public support for wartime efforts, thereby influencing the duration and outcome of conflicts.
According to the South China Morning Post, China can destroy SpaceX’s Starlink satellites if China’s security is at risk.
In a study by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) scientists led by Wang Dan, a professor with the Naval Submarine Academy, said that for anti-satellite missions, the biggest challenge was not hitting the satellite, but hiding the attack as missile launches are often accompanied by long trails of smoke.
“Taking the satellites launched by the Starlink programme as an example, they are numerous, densely packed, and small in size, making the satellite network extremely resilient. Even if a significant number of satellites are destroyed, there are redundancies to replace them. Therefore, using missiles to attack such satellites is highly inefficient,” Wang’s team said in a peer-reviewed paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal, Command Control & Simulation.
“Submarine-based laser weapons can solve these issues”
The paper detailed a step-by-step guide to attacking Starlink-like satellites at sea.
“First, one or several submarines equipped with laser weapons are deployed to the sea area where the operation is to be conducted. They enter the target sea area according to the command instructions and wait for the satellites to come within their attack range. The time to raise the laser weapon is determined based on the previously acquired satellite overhead time,” they wrote.
“When the satellite enters the attackable range, the laser weapon is raised. Due to the limitations of the submarine’s detection equipment, other forces are required to provide satellite position guidance for the submarine to attack the satellite. After the attack is completed, the submarine can submerge and wait for the next mission or return to the home port,” it said.
Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited China in April and sought Beijing’s approval for the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China and the transfer of its data overseas, according to a Reuters report.
Although China works with Tesla’s boss, it sees his SpaceX company as a threat.
According to official data released this month, China has more than 900 satellites in orbit. The US has seven times that number, most of them part of Starlink.
In 2021, two Starlink satellites dangerously approached the Chinese space station, prompting astronauts to initiate emergency evacuation procedures. The incident convinced Beijing that the US could use these cheap satellites to hit China’s expensive space assets.
The Starlink satellites primarily serve communication purposes, but recent success in SpaceX’s Starship rocket test flight has prompted speculation among Chinese military analysts. They suggest future Starlink iterations could potentially carry additional payloads for military functions like reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Concerns are further fueled by the Starshield initiative, a collaboration between the Pentagon and SpaceX aimed at monitoring China’s hypersonic weapons.
The advancement of laser weaponry poses significant technological challenges, including energy storage and optical precision. Despite these hurdles, China has accelerated its research efforts and achieved notable breakthroughs, particularly since the use of Starlink in the Ukraine conflict.
Recent innovations include robust power systems capable of supporting dense launches, compact yet powerful solid-state lasers, and advanced optical fiber technology enabling high-quality power transmission exceeding 10,000 watts. Researchers have also explored applications such as creating surface air bubbles on submarines to reduce drag and generating silent shock waves for propulsion.
According to studies by Chinese scientists, submarines equipped with laser weapons could potentially engage in a variety of missions, from anti-satellite operations to escorting merchant ships and conducting strategic strikes on land-based targets like radars and oil storage facilities. They propose that even a modest 150-kilowatt submarine-based laser could disable anti-submarine aircraft detection systems within seconds over a range of more than 20 kilometers.
Strategic missile submarines, critical for nuclear deterrence, are vulnerable to aerial threats. Submarines armed with laser weapons could safeguard these assets by disrupting or disabling satellite surveillance systems, thereby concealing missile launch activities during nuclear counter-attack missions.
Additionally, submarines offer advantages over surface warships for escorting merchant vessels due to their stealth, endurance, and autonomous navigation capabilities. Equipped with laser weapons, they could defend against aerial threats targeting merchant ships and engage enemy surface vessels using anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, SCMP said in its report.
Moreover, submarines could be deployed to disrupt enemy ports, targeting oil storage facilities and critical infrastructure. Such actions could potentially impact enemy economies and public support for wartime efforts, thereby influencing the duration and outcome of conflicts.
