Jinping ceremony
President Xi Jinping (center) transfers a military flag to Gao Jin (left) and Liu Fulian, commander and political commissar, respectively, of the PLA Strategic Support Force, at an inauguration ceremony in Beijing on Dec. 31. Credit: Chinese Ministry of National Defense

The Defense Intelligence Agency warned in January 2019 that China likely will field in 2020 a ground-based laser weapon that can counter low-orbit space-based sensors. By the mid-to-late 2020s it may field higher power systems that could damage the structures of non-optical satellites.

To continue reading this article:

Register now and get
3 free articles every month.

You’ll also receive our weekly SpaceNews This Week newsletter every Friday. Opt-out at any time.

Sign in to an existing account

Get unlimited access to
SpaceNews.com now.

Use code SNLAUNCH for 30% off your first payment.

Subscriptions renew automatically at full price. Cancel anytime. Sales tax may apply. No refunds. Only one discount code valid per subscription.

See all subscription options

Brian Chow (Ph.D. in physics, MBA with distinction, Ph.D. in finance) is an independent policy analyst with more than 180 publications.

Henry Sokolski is executive director of The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center in Arlington, Virginia, and served as Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy in the Cheney Pentagon.