‘Mind-boggling’: Space Force chief fires off dire warning about Chinese capability to knock out US satellites

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

They told us the exact same thing about the Russians, what, 5 6 years ago?

While I'm sure there's a degree of truth, there's also a degree of them fear mongering to justify increased budget

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LetsJustDoItTonight@reddit

Tbf, the Chinese economy and military/technology is way stronger than Russia's.

Russia has always kinda been a shit hole that talks a big game and might be able to back it up; it's just that, since they have nukes, no one's really felt much need to force them to prove what they can or cannot do.

China has a lot more credibility in the modern era when it comes to their claims of what they're capable of.

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JamIsBetterThanJelly@reddit

China's military is NOT "stronger than Russia's". Add to that not only has a single living Chinese soldier seen actual combat but almost the entirety of their arsenal is completely untested on the battlefield. Any military action China undertakes will be fraught with huge logistical, strategic and tactical mistakes. Russia at least has living military personnel who fought in Afghanistan and Wagner who have been in proxy wars for a long time and look how badly Ukraine went for Russia. They made beginners mistakes all over the place with their armor and infantry tactics. It's crazy to watch.

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dyslexic-alien@reddit

You realize getting experience is easy, right?. The Chinese just like the Americans train and train and train and sure, they may be crappy the first week but then they’ll get better and better so being inexperienced isn’t a forever handicap. Their arsenal is untested but if they were bad, the US would already be in Taiwan. Just like when Tik Tok was banned and Americans went to Chinese social media realizing the American government was lying to them and the Chinese realizing their government was telling the truth about Americans

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JamIsBetterThanJelly@reddit

"getting experience is easy" You have no idea what you're talking about. The rest of your comment is just unrelated nonsense. I want to reiterate: you are clueless. Why don't you ask an actual veteran if "getting experience is easy"?

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Accomplished_Owl8530@reddit

Huge population of a billion and a half doesn't hurt either!

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LetsJustDoItTonight@reddit

Not to mention, we saw during the pandemic an example of just how swift and efficient China's logistics can be; they were building entire hospitals in the span of like 1-2 weeks.

Hell, their quick, adaptable logistics is a big part of why they had so few per capita Covid deaths, despite the pandemic starting there first.

One of the last things I think China would struggle with is logistics or adaptability, even in war time.

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Apprehensive_Pea7911@reddit

The Chinese military is filled with uneducated peasant conscripts. In a real war, they will resort to the same meat wave tactics as Russia because what else are you gonna do with a million conscripts?

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KyllikkiSkjeggestad@reddit

China has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, and the majority of people obtain college, or some other form of higher education.

The U.S. on the other hand has approximately 20% lower literacy, and more than half the country can’t read, or write above a 4th grade level.

Someone’s military is mostly uneducated peasants, but it’s not China’s - And claiming so, is harmful for western militaries.

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JL3Eleven@reddit

I bet you read those "facts" off the CCP letterhead didn't you.

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OffensiveCenter@reddit

Thank you for pushing back on the crack-pot “uneducated peasant” soldiers take. I’ve sat in on college courses in Beijing and those kids are no joke. To consider them uneducated, backwards, or otherwise lacking in intelligence is hilariously regarded.

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Hope1995x@reddit

And there hasn't been Superpower vs Superpower Naval War since World War 2. So experience is over-rated. The Russians had more experience than the Chinese yet they performed terribly in Ukraine.

The US Military possibly portrays an illusion of being stronger than they appear.

Iraq was good on paper, but they were war-weary with the Iran-Iraq War and the 1000s of SAM defenses were probably short-staffed or they were too chicken to put up a fight like Ukraine.

So, when you don't have the economy to run a military the numbers are deceptive.

China has the economy and the industrial might to outproduce the US in a naval war.

Before anyone freaks out, conventional ICBMs do not automatically result in nuclear war. 5 ICBM launches are limited, and if the US assumes they are nukes they just committed suicide.

Don't think China will allow B-2 bombing runs on the mainland to go unanswered.

The US has been training to fight opponents that adopted Soviet Doctrine, China has something different. Something we didn't train for. So it won't be like Iraq in 1991.

T

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Varsity_Reviews@reddit

China does not have the capabilities to take on US ships. US naval ships are very, very, very scary, and there's also the US Coast Guard. Plus the Navy have insanely good jets that China could only dream of getting. China might be able to make more ships, but they don't have the weapons out class the US Navy.

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Scary-Button1393@reddit

China builds something crazy like 30 ships for every one the US builds.

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Hope1995x@reddit

Commercial ships could be outfitted with drones. Ukrainian drones prove useful.

But they'll probably have to get really close. Large enough numbers, it would work.

And they could use meshed nickel-aluminum tape to protect it from Microwave Weapons.

They could be automated with a camera to guide them.

It would be embarrassing if a low-tech solution defeats even the anti-drone systems that cost millions and millions of dollars.

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Hope1995x@reddit

Oh boy, you are so wrong. Here's an analogy: It doesn't matter if someone has a better gun in a gunfight. Getting shot proves that it doesn't matter.

The J-20 is good enough to take down AWACs and there's 100s of them.

There's 1000s of drones, stealth drones.

They already have the digital technology to create the software for AEGIS-like radar systems, all kinds of hi-tech informational warfare stuff.

They're good enough to do enough damage.

Chinese pilots fly a lot.

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Scary-Button1393@reddit

Russia is still a regional power and would get absolutely fleeced by a peer. Fuck, Poland could probably take them solo and they've got some score settling to do.

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MetalWorking3915@reddit

I think its clear this whole thing is the US focusing on the threat of China.

They need Europe to be strong against Russia and other threats so they have the ability to focus on China. The only way to.do.that is to act like you won't support them militarily anymore.
The tariffs is what they think will bring back US economic dominance as they need to start reducing debt which is another major threat to the future of the US. They also need to start rebalanced global trade away from China.

This is my view but I'm also sure they are not very nice.

A lot of what you see on social media is to make out the US and Russia are the bad guys but who really benefits massively from weakening the US and it's allies. China

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LetsJustDoItTonight@reddit

I think you're giving them far too much credit.

Why would China weaken the US and its allies if that would rebalance global trade away from China and let the US focus more on combating China militarily..?

Your theory seems to contradict itself.

Social media isn't making out the US and Russia to be bad guys; the US and Russia just actually are the bad guys.

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wanderingpeddlar@reddit

This, the Chinese know full well We have shot down a satellite from a ship from a plane and from the ground. Shooting down a US satellite won't end well.

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

Realistically if both sides wipe out all satellites whose worse off

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wanderingpeddlar@reddit

They are.

One they can't (and I don't think we can) easily reach GPS satellites

We mostly would fall back to GPS and Laser target designaters like the first gulf war.

That being said GPS jamming/spoofing has caused a charge of people in internal navigation. The weapon knows were it is and does not require a GPS stream.

China would lose sight of anything further away then say Taiwan.

And I can just about promise you a B-1 would shatter Chinas pipeline of oil from russia.

China would be reduced to shipping oil in. And that could be cut off at will.

Roughly 30 days after that China would run out of oil for military uses. And their economy would collapse. They would have to truck it in from russia and they can't move enough to matter.

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therapistofcats@reddit

You realize China has a 5+ year oil reserve, yeah? Plus they just found a bunch in the South China Sea. It's not 30 days.

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wanderingpeddlar@reddit

One oil underground is not diesel or various light fuels.

Two the only thing I can find is China's strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) is estimated to hold approximately 400 million barrels of oil as of 2016

China's oil consumption is substantial, averaging around 16.3 million barrels per day in 2024. This translates to approximately 489 million barrels per month.

So unless you can find credible information showing otherwise a month is pushing it. So as far as I can see it is not anywhere near 5 years. Feel free to show me if I am wrong.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64544

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_petroleum_reserve_%28China%29

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therapistofcats@reddit

A) you realize China has refining capabilities, yeah? Like they take the imported oil and make diesel and light fuel. It is the second largest refining capabilities in the world.

B) you're talking strategic oil reserve. I'm talking oil reserves.

https://www.worldometers.info/oil/china-oil/

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wanderingpeddlar@reddit

A) you realize China has refining capabilities, yeah?

Yeah, poorly put on my part I guess. Would putting it this way help? Claiming oil in international waters as being in your exclusive economic zone doesn't make it yours help?

B) you're talking strategic oil reserve. I'm talking oil reserves.

I was always talking about strategic oil reserves. Like when I said if china stopped importing oil they would run out in 30 days more or less. And again oil in the ground means nothing if you are not drilling it. Like most of the oil in international waters in that area. Saying they "have" it has zero bearing on their ability to sustain their economy if the flow of oil is shut off.

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JL3Eleven@reddit

That 5 years of reserve oil is not on hand ready to use. It would take years to get going even without being in a war.

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history-fan61@reddit

Elon Musk is the answer to the question so thumbs up! ...and elbows too.

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BGP_001@reddit

Unless the us relies on satellites to shoot satellites. Space duel, whoever pulls the trigger first has an advantage.

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

We rely on satellites for precision bombing and missle strikes. Without satellites we have to go back to the old school, less precise method of insert X coordinates for strikes.

The result is essentially more missed targets, more civilian casualty

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ThiefAndBeggar@reddit

They also said China could cut our overseas internet cables.

If we were antagonizing Canada and Mexico, they could use these headlines to cut off access to media outside the US and blame it on adversarial nations.

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

Didn't a Chinese cargo ship "accidentally" cut two communications/internet cables in the Baltic sea recently?

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ThiefAndBeggar@reddit

Yup "China cut the cables and the satellites, Mexico and Canada cut the land lines, there's only American news."

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johnnyringo1985@reddit

No, that was China. They were the first country to demonstrate a surface-to-satellite missile around that time. The US has still (technically) not demonstrated the same capability, at least publicly.

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

It doesn't need to be ground to satellite based though, the US demonstrated the ability with an F-15 in 1985, demonstrated the ability with an Mig 31 as well as their kosmodron plesetsk system. It was kind of a huge deal all over the news because the international community was upset about the debris fields they created in the atmosphere

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johnnyringo1985@reddit

Right. The US discontinued that program, and the Chinese test was the first time a satellite was shot down since then.

You said Russia, it was China.

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AdditionalAd9794@reddit

Russia did it twice in 2021, once with a Mig 31 and once with their kosmodron.

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johnnyringo1985@reddit

Agreed.

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Ok_Lettuce_7939@reddit

So you can take a complete internet stranger's word at face value, but I will say it's not hyperbole. Go ahead and do OSINT on PRC's launch schedules and draw your own conclusions from that.

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therapistofcats@reddit

How does this impact your preps?

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Puzzleheaded_Chip2@reddit

Meshtastic. 😂 satellites go down, I’ve still got communication haha.

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imhostfu@reddit

Heck yeah! The meshtastic devices are cheap and so they're easy to hand out (pre-configured) to trustworthy neighbors and family.

I'm in the process of deploying some solar powered nodes around town for increased coverage.

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h_Ellhnikh_Koinwnia@reddit

What's the range of these things?

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imhostfu@reddit

The way I describe it to people, is that regular walkie talkies are nice, but they aren't encrypted (FCC), so people can still eavesdrop.

Meshtastic is fundamentally encrypted RF (~915MHz) text messaging. The devices pair with your phone via bluetooth, and they have antennas that send the message out to other devices.

I have a solar powered node that I setup on the second story of my roof, and I can communicate with another device in a 2 mile diameter with just that little gadget. But, the signals also can use other meshtastic devices to 'hop' the (encrypted) transmission.

I'll be deploying a solar node at a high point in town, and realistically that might bump it up to about 8-10 miles. And they're cheap enough that I have 8 prepared to give to nearby family and trusted neighbors.

If two people put solar power nodes elevated and there is decent line of sight, then the range becomes tens of miles. But the great part is that it doesn't rely on anything else (other antennas, satellites, internet), and that the transmission is encrypted.

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h_Ellhnikh_Koinwnia@reddit

Thanks that's fascinating!

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therapistofcats@reddit

Ditto. Just got some new compact ones. Seems to work well.

https://www.seeedstudio.com/SenseCAP-Card-Tracker-T1000-E-for-LoRaWAN-p-6408.html?qid=eyJjX3NlYXJjaF9xdWVyeSI6InQxMDAwIiwiY190b3RhbF9yZXN1bHRzIjoxNSwiY19zZWFyY2hfcmVzdWx0X3R5cGUiOiJQcm9kdWN0IiwiY19zZWFyY2hfZmlsdGVycyI6InN0b3JlQ29kZTpbcmV0YWlsZXJdICYmIHF1YW50aXR5X2FuZF9zdG9ja19zdGF0dXM6WzFdIiwiY19zZWFyY2hfcmVzdWx0X3BvcyI6MTF9

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AntiSonOfBitchamajig@reddit

This would include GPS... Communications, imagery for weather reporting... this would be a serious matter would it happen.

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therapistofcats@reddit

But how does it impact your prepping? How is this "news" any different than a space based EMP or nuke or a massive solar storm or Kessler syndrome? It doesn't really matter how it happens the impact is the same.

China doesn't even have the tech to make sub 5nm chips but they are supposed to be on the brink of quantum satellite communication? K

This whole article is just Space Force asking for more money. All of a sudden the US is "resource limited"? Since when? Then he goes on about how Space Force budget has "shrunk in absolute terms"... Ah so they are using a maybe someday possibly China could do this stuff tactic to scare Congress and it's constituents into giving more money to the military industrial complex.

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AntiSonOfBitchamajig@reddit

I will be farther investing in mesh systems myself.

The information though is interesting... space weaponry being developed.

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PossibleAttorney9267@reddit

now developing guerrilla satellite protection methods.

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Popular_Sir_9009@reddit

Defense contractors need your $$$$$

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underoath1299@reddit

Cue: Kessler Syndrome.

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Deathglass@reddit

Literally any country can shoot down a satellite...

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TurtleStepper@reddit

Basically any space faring country can KO all of the satellites. It is a real concern that this will occur totally accidentally (Kessler syndrome). Of course it can be done intentionally. I imagine it would be very much like a MAD doctrine though. If China (or anyone) starts taking out US satellites, the situation will quickly escalate until all satellites are destroyed by the subsequent debris fields. Additionally, pending the development of some sort of scifi like energy space shields, no nation can realistically defend or prevent any such attack if another nation is intent on doing so. So all in all I think this article, and entire talking point, is pretty stupid.

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Specialist-Sun-5968@reddit

Russia, China, and the US can all take out other counties satellites. I suspect this is intended to preempt "we have to take out their satellites first before they take out ours."

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BugsyMcNug@reddit

Sounds like someone wants more money.

I know China wouldn't die if America ceased to be able to buy their plastic junk, as well as the useful things that they do make.. but how does it help them?

Seems to me like they would profit more if they just let america keep on fucking itself. Like.. what I'm saying here is that they don't need to do anything to hurt america more than it hurts itself.

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ShihPoosRule@reddit

I’m worried more about the orange felon knocking out the global economy.

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eyesmart1776@reddit

Space force? Is this a joke agency ?

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hurcoman@reddit

Games over. China won. All they had to do is sit back and do nothing. They will invade Taiwan and nobody will stop them. The Yen will be the world’s reserve currency. There’s no going back. I’m old enough to make it to the finish line okay. I feel sorry for the children.

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Varsity_Reviews@reddit

Yeah China is never going to invade Taiwan. Even if we want to pretend the US will just let Taiwan be invaded, Taiwan has friends in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Japan and South Korea might join in too, but that's a might.

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South-Bit-1533@reddit

You might be stupid

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tickitytalk@reddit

But what does Laura Loomer think?

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scorp0rg@reddit

Somehow, I feel like I could sleep better knowing that at least someone in the world COULD knock out US satellites.

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No-Plan-2043@reddit

Thought it was mind bottling...

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Minute-Joke9758@reddit

You mean this guy.. best show ever

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Serious-Monk-3057@reddit

Really? I could not get into it at all. Not a single thing that was said in the first 2 episodes made me laugh even a tiny bit, so i gave up, disappointed

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DiggerJer@reddit

So, anyone remember when an F-15 Eagle did the same thing........in 1985......

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Flat-Control6952@reddit

I can't believe we even have a "Space Force."

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dangerdavedsp@reddit

its just a rebranded piece if the air force. we've always had it.

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The-Copilot@reddit

Yup, the air force was ballooning out of control.

They basically took everything that the airforce did that didn't involve planes and slapped the space Force logo on it. Things like GPS satellites, communications, and cyber warfare.

This helps clean up organizational and financial mess that was created by having such a large branch.

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