Earth orbit is becoming a front line in the struggle between Russia, China and America. Counter-space weapons threaten not only military infrastructure but also the civilian spacecraft that provide communications and the positioning, navigation and timing data essential for modern economies.
Russia has developed Cosmos 2553, which America believes is an unarmed prototype of a nuclear weapon capable of wiping out satellites across large swathes of low-Earth orbit. In May 2024 Cosmos 2576, another Russian satellite, entered a "coplanar" orbit with USA 314, an American spy satellite, in a manner that "could signal the positioning of a counterspace weapon", according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
China is building a range of counter-space weapons. General Stephen Whiting, the head of America's Space Command, said China is "moving at jaw-dropping speed" in expanding its anti-satellite arsenal. Both Russia and China have developed satellites with advanced manoeuvring capabilities that could allow them to interfere with or destroy American satellites.
In one instance TJS-4, a Chinese suspected signals-intelligence spacecraft, manoeuvred to position itself between an American surveillance satellite and the Sun, creating shadows that prevented American cameras from photographing the Chinese craft. General Michael Guetlein accused China of practising "dogfighting in space".
In 2025 USA 324, an American surveillance satellite, approached TJS-16 and TJS-17, a pair of Chinese suspected electronic-intelligence satellites, passing within 17km and 12km respectively—far closer than Russia's Cosmos 2576 came to USA 314. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics noted this was "the sort of thing that causes DoD officials to issue outraged comments when China does it to ours".
France has discussed developing "bodyguard" systems for satellites, which could allow satellites to detect threats and then defend themselves using a robot or laser.
In late 2024 American and French military satellites conducted a joint rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) near an enemy satellite—reportedly Russian, given France's complaints about Russian manoeuvres near its satellites. It was the first time America had conducted such an operation with a country outside the Five Eyes intelligence pact, and the first "purpose-built" RPO rather than a reactive one. The exercise is to be repeated.
In a defence review published in 2025, Britain said for the first time that it would develop anti-satellite weapons deployed on Earth and in orbit.
America leads Operation Olympic Defender, in which it works with Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand to "deter hostile acts in space". In April 2025 the initiative reached initial operational capability, with all seven countries signing a joint campaign plan.
American military doctrine has historically treated satellites as "individual forts" in fixed positions, but moving a satellite burns fuel and shortens its lifespan. Three solutions are emerging: carrying more fuel; refuelling in orbit (which China demonstrated in June 2025); and operating so many satellites that each one can be treated as expendable. America's National Reconnaissance Office has launched more than 200 classified spy satellites since 2023, with a dozen launches scheduled for 2025 alone.
General Stephen Whiting, the head of US Space Command, has said he would like AI on board satellites so they can detect "nefarious" objects nearby and manoeuvre out of the way without human intervention. On the ground, Space Command has built "SpaceBot", a large language model trained on the command's threat and planning data. Officers quiz it on gaps in their knowledge or on how to respond to attacks in space.
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.