According to the Secure World Foundation, China is developing as many as three anti-satellite missile systems, or "helicopter-mounted anti-satellite systems." At least one system, SC-19, is considered operational. The SC-19, which has been tested five times, is derived from the DF-21C intermediate-range ballistic missile, with technology transferred from surface-to-air missile systems. SWF noted that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimates that China will develop a land-based anti-satellite laser weapon system by 2020.
China is also developing ground-based signal jammers to jam data feeds from satellites, an important capability that could be used against long-range adversaries like the United States.
Perhaps the most advanced anti-satellite weapons program of any country is run by the United States. The U.S. military has a powerful Arsenal of anti-satellite weapons, including land-based interceptor missiles based in Alaska and Hawaii. The GBI was originally developed to shoot down ballistic missile warheads aimed at the United States through low Earth orbit. The U.S. Navy's SM-3 interceptor missile has more experience in this regard, having shot down an aging satellite during Operation Frost Burn in 2008.
The Boeing X-37B unmanned space plane could also play an important role in America's anti-satellite war. OTV-5 is a 780-day X-37B mission that was supposed to put three small Cubesats into orbit. Breaking Defense suggests that these cubesats could be part of an anti-satellite warfare research program.
The report also looked at other space powers, including Europe, Japan and rogue states such as North Korea and Japan. Japan plans to build anti-satellite weapons, but also uses the same radar and missile systems as Operation Frost, giving it a potential anti-satellite capability. France is working on developing laser dazzlers to blind satellites. Countries such as North Korea and Iran have active space programs, but progress has been slow and both are far from deploying operational weapons.
This fall, the U.S. military will test an anti-jamming GPS to try to overcome this problem and break down defenses, following suspicions that Russia has interfered with GPS signals in Europe and elsewhere.
GPS jammers could also become a major liability for U.S. and allied forces, which rely on the system for everything from troop movement to missile and drone guidance. Last fall, the United States and NATO Allies launched a major joint exercise in Norway called "Trident Engagement" to test joint readiness and training for a large multinational coalition. During the exercise, the military noticed GPS signals were jammed, which Finnish and Norwegian officials attributed to Russia. In April 2018, U.S. officials said the Russian military had interfered with the GPS systems of drones it operates in Syria.
