31 Mar 2023 Yang Mengfei, Official, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, SPACENEWS “Space official calls for China to seize crucial opportunity to establish lunar infrastructure”: "Now is the critical time for space infrastructure to expand to the Earth-moon system. At present, the United States, Europe, and Japan have proposed relevant plans for Earth-moon space infrastructure, but they have not yet entered the stage of on-orbit construction. For our country, it is now a key opportunity to seize the opportunity and lead the Earth-moon space industrial market. It will have a great impact and far-reaching significance.”
29 Mar 2023 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), HASC, HASC Committee Hearing: FY24 Defense Budget Request: [We’re seeing a lot of new technology advances in cyber, AI… My sense is all this will happen so fast, and DoD and the Pentagon will be the most prepared but I am worried about China. Partnering, resources, how do we stay ahead of China?]
29 Mar 2023 Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, USSF, Defense One State of Defense: State of the Space Force:[The Space Force was created to protect US space capabilities from emerging threats posed by China and other adversaries. China has demonstrated the capability and intent to conduct counter space operations to attack US space assets, using missiles, jammers, and other means. The Space Force has been stood up to protect those capabilities and also protect the Joint Force from an emerging set of capabilities that the adversary is putting on orbit to threaten and target our forces.]
[The US is in a state of competition with China. Managing this relationship in a way that allows for competition is preferable to being in crisis or conflict. The Space Force plays a key role in maintaining this stability. Our strategic challenger out there now is China...we are in a state of competition and I say that intentionally because that means we're not really in crisis or conflict, and so the key is how do you stay in competition if the alternative is that you're going to be in crisis or conflict?...We are in a state of competition, and I think that speaks to the importance of the Space Force...we want to manage the relationship in a way that allows us to stay in recognition that we're going to compete against each other for a number of things, but the competition is preferable.]
28 Mar 2023 Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), HAC-D, HAC-D Budget Hearing: FY24 Request for the USAF and USSF: [Space superiority is more important than ever as the US faces strategic competition with China. Our military must maintain superiority in all domains. We must invest, create new technology… ]
[China and NK are not waiting for us to field. We need progress now. I will work closely with you to field the platforms we need. Do not let legacy procurement process prohibit us from defeating our adversaries…….. Russia and China have carried out ASATs…]
28 Mar 2023 Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, USSF, HAC-D Budget Hearing: FY24 Request for the USAF and USSF:[China and Russia are working to undermine us in the domain. China is our pacing challenge but Russia is an acute threat. Both can hold US space assets at risk.]
27 Mar 2023 Christopher Stone, Senior Fellow, National Institute for Deterrence Studies, The Hill “Space Force should prepare for the threat we have—not the one we prefer”: On the use of "soft kill" space weapons in Ukraine "But are these really the lessons learned by China and are the “soft kill” and reversible counter-space warfighting options the “wave of the future” for space integration in conflict? The short answer is no."
"While the U.S. and its allies have been pursuing a strategy of norms, resilience and arms-control measures to ensure the security, safety and sustainability of the space domain, China and Russia have not. They have opposed the U.S.-led proposal to ban destructive ASAT testing. China in particular is taking a much more aggressive route, likely in preparation for eventual conflict with the U.S. and its allies."
"Knowing the intentions behind the development and deployment of China’s space forces, senior leaders in Congress and the Pentagon should understand that the future for which we should be preparing is one where p-LEO resiliency would unravel in the face of superior Chinese space-power overmatch. Debris generation might be a concern for the West, but it might not necessarily be a concern of long-term strategists such as the Chinese."
"We should be preparing for a future where we not only can take a hit but can hit back — in a way that deters and prevents attacks in the first place. The current space deterrence and warfighting posture of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command is not ready for this reality. We must fix this posture."
20 Mar 2023 Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Director of Staff, USSF, Scientific American “Space Force Humor, Laser Dazzlers, and the Havoc a War in Space Would Actually Wreak”: “Russia, definitely back in the Cold War had very capable spacecraft. Over time, those capabilities have waned a little bit, but they are still an acute threat, I would say. China is growing quickly and developing every kind of space capability that we have."
15 Mar 2023 Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, USSF, McAleese Annual “Defense Programs” Conference: [SSC commercial services office [is] building partnerships to improving ability to leverage commercial off shelf capabilities. Industry partners vital to deter and if necessary, defeat China.]
15 Mar 2023 Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), SASC, McAleese Annual “Defense Programs” Conference: [Can’t separate China and Russia; there is a correlation there…Must focus on both and keep vigilant eye...Chinas efforts in space, nuclear capabilities, South America, you name it. Multi-domain, multi-countries need to be vigilant everywhere.]
15 Mar 2023 Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, USSF, Air and Space Forces Magazine “How Do You Train for a War in Space? Saltzman Says USSF Is Working on the Details”: “In terms of China, we are not lagging behind. If you were conducting a wargame, and you were picking which space force in the world you want on your side, you would pick the United States Space Force. We have the greatest capabilities, we have the most capable force—the envy of the world.”
14 Mar 2023 Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, USSF, SASC-SF Hearing: USSF in Review of DAR FY24 and FYPD: [China and Russia know how important space is and they’re seeking to undermine our advantages in the domain. To meet the challenge SF will prioritize fielding combat ready forces, amplifying the guardian spirit, and partnering to win.]
[Space is a contested and congested domain. Two kinds of threats, threats from space assets and threats to space assets. Both China and Russia have robust space-based capabilities. Both continue to develop and deploy a range of weapons aimed at US capabilities… cyberwarfare, blinging satellites, jamming, orbital engagement systems…. Contested domain shapes the enduring purpose of USSF.]
[The Chinese and Russians know that we’ve built a joint force structure that relies heavily on the assumption that space capabilities will be there…They know we rely on it so if they can interfere or destroy them completely, they know that would put the joint force at risk. I can see blinding and grey area attacks to try to put us behind.]
14 Mar 2023 Doug Wade, Chief, China Mission Group, Defense Intelligence Agency, INSA Coffee & Conversation: [Space is a real issue. China has a really robust space program. It spans a full spectrum of activities and counterspace capabilities. There’s a variety of space and counter space assets from China that worries us a lot. I think China sees space as a potential vulnerability for the US. They want to dominate in that domain just like the others.]
09 Mar 2023 Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), SASC, SASC Hearing, USSTRATCOM and USSC DAR FY24 and FYDP: [The public is becoming much more aware of the threats China is posing. This will continue to be a big focus on my office. We will do everything we can to challenge that threat. What are two or three things that you don’t think the public is aware of in regard to China and space threats?]
09 Mar 2023 Gen. Anthony Cotton, USAF, Commander, USSTRATCOM, SASC Hearing, USSTRATCOM and USSC DAR FY24 and FYDP: On Chinese FOBC [It is destabilizing. The results of this weapon, others decided not to go in this direction. It comes down to warning. Understanding our timelines.]
09 Mar 2023 Gen. James Dickinson, Commander, USSC, SASC Hearing, USSTRATCOM and USSC DAR FY24 and FYDP: [Joint force relies on space-based capabilities. China and Russia see this dependency as a soft underbelly. They are fielding capabilities to that effect. Our competitors have transformed space into a highly contested domain. We must deter aggression, defend national interest, prevail in any domain if necessary.]
On unfunded priorities list [We’re getting more people and our infrastructure is growing and we’re facing a big threat in the space domain, our pacing adversary China. Because of that we’re growing quickly and there’s funding I wasn’t able to forecast.]
On educating the public on China space threats [Talking about what they’re doing in space right now. Messaging and conversation where appropriate is very important to do. A constant conversation on how China is improving in space.]
On Chinese FOBC [As the global sensor manager, being able to see if the first thing. These are emerging types of threats that we need to be able to address. We need to look at capabilities we haven’t typically used and if we have things that we can better leverage today. It’s an area that I’m aggressively working on today.]
Educational point for the public to know on China space [There are a couple of things. The number of space launches China does in a year, 2022 there were 186 space launches and 64 of those were Chinese. The US was 87. They have rounded out their equivalent of their GPS. The sheer number of satellites in orbit, everything from ISR, comms, PNT… They are moving in a direction where they want to be a peer to us. We’re still the best but we need to make sure we keep the gap or increase it.]
[When you look at what the Chinese are doing with their own station and yearning for the moon, we need to understand that that has a military application. Space fuels the economy.]
09 Mar 2023 Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), SASC, SASC Hearing, USSTRATCOM and USSC DAR FY24 and FYDP: [China is rapidly developing space and counter-space capabilities. They are creating space debris. This irresponsible act only scratches the service. We need a fundamental reassessment of our assumptions. The Administration downplays the reality that space is a warfighting domain. We need military solutions. Refusing to acknowledge and prepare affects our country’s ability to protect in a future war that could extend into space. This Admin needs plans and postures to account for the worsening security system.]
08 Mar 2023 Avril Haines, Director, ODNI, SSCI Hearing: Worldwide Threats: [The CCP continues to take an aggressive approach to external affairs, military, nuclear arsenal, counterspace weapons capable of targeting satellites. Technology IP, continuing to increase the global supply chain to threaten and cut off foreign countries during crises.]
08 Mar 2023 Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, Commander, INDOPACOM, SPACENEWS “US Space Force game plan: Compete with China, prevent shooting war in orbit”: “No one synchronizes across all domains better than the United States. We continue to demonstrate that every day in the Indo Pacific and the PRC sees this on a daily basis. That is an incredible deterrent. China has put up a lot of satellites just within the last five to six years. There’s a lot of capability on orbit … designed to find, track and target U.S. forces and allied forces.”
08 Mar 2023 Lt. Gen. John Shaw, Deputy Commander, USSC, SPACENEWS “US Space Force game plan: Compete with China, prevent shooting war in orbit”: “We’re under threat in the space domain. If I were on the General Staff of Russia, or if I was serving in the PLA [China’s People’s Liberation Army] I would be advising the leadership to go after the space capabilities of the United States … to project power across the planet and they’re not all that well defended. So we should not be surprised that we’re under threat … We have to completely rethink how we do our space architectures. We’re probably gonna have to be more nimble.”
08 Mar 2023 Gen. James Dickinson, Commander, USSC, HASC-SF Hearing: FY24 Strategic Forces Posture: [Joint force relies on space. China and Russia consider this dependency a soft underbelly. They’re fielding capabilities. Our competitor’s irresponsible actions have made space a contested domain. We must deter aggression and if necessary prevail.]
[Space is global in nature. Any regional conflict will depend upon and utilize space. I think what we would see would be a use of space. They know space-based capabilities facilitate our global reach. I think we’ll see this with China.]
08 Mar 2023 Dr. John Plumb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, HASC-SF Hearing: FY24 Strategic Forces Posture: [Today the US is facing strategic competition. China and Russia have placed nuclear weapons and space at the center of their strategies. China is our pacing challenge. China, like Russia, views space as a warfighting domain. They’re fielding counterspace capabilities. They have long range strike systems. Space systems inform US decisions every day. Ukraine has leveraged proliferated constellations. Russia has conducted repeated attacks.]
08 Mar 2023 Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), HASC-SF, HASC-SF Hearing: FY24 Strategic Forces Posture: [Russia continues to wage war on Ukraine. China is launching satellites that have dual use capabilities. NK has launched ballistic missiles that can reach the US. Uranium has reached an Iran facility. While we’re clear eyed about the advancements, we must reflect how our actions are looked by those adversaries and ensure there’s no miscommunication. We must ensure our strategic advantage. The Biden Admin is taking a balanced approach to strategic deterrence.]
[If war with China can start in space, then it’s probably necessary to have a strong space deterrence do you agree?...And the challenging thing with deterrence is it’s not just enough to have capabilities that exceed the adversaries, they have to be able to believe that…]
07 Mar 2023 Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, Commander, Pacific Air Forces, AFA Warfare Symposium: On operating in a contested space environment [When you think about China, they want it to be China vs the US but it’s really China vs the US and a bunch of other countries that will come with us. When you get down into the operational and tactical levels, frequency of operating together, symposiums, all the dialogs, we’re so interoperable and that’s a deterrent value. Who does China operate with? Every now and then with Russia.]
07 Mar 2023 Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Commander, Space Operations Command, USSF, AFA Warfare Symposium: [Cyber is the soft underbelly. Adversaries are going out to GEO, cislunar… Certainly China and Russia can take us on but cyber is less attributable. Cyber guardians, we’re making progress. We stood up CCSP. We’ll scale that. Scaling cyber defenses will help with resilience. ]
07 Mar 2023 Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, USSF, AFA Warfare Symposium: […Since 2015 China’s on orbit assets have expanded dramatically. In Jan, Chinese and PLA went above 700 satellites in space. About half are used for RS and ISR. Space superiority will have to be gained in a conflict against the PLA. They can track us, sense us, see us. They can connect that data and can hold US forces at risk in a way we’ve never experienced.]
[We should be very concerned how fast one player is adding chips. PLA has more SAMS, more service components than the US. They’ve shown us what they’ll do when they have an advantage. They’ve shown us this in the maritime domain. We have to recognize that as we sit at the table, not everyone is playing the same fair game. Last week they announced their defense budget will be 7.2% higher.]
07 Mar 2023 Frank Kendall, Secretary, USAF, 2023 AFA Warfare Symposium: [Our most sacred obligation is to prepare our airmen and guardians for what they’ll need to defend the nation. DAF is ready and eager to work with Congress. None of this can begin without congressional approval. Untimely appropriations would be a gift to China.]
[My focus is responding to PLA modernization program. PLA has been working for decades to prevent and try to defeat US interactions in the region. War is not inevitable. There’s no time frame in which conflict can be predicted. Department of AF job is to help prevent a conflict but if deterrence fails, it’s our job to always be ready.]
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