<OT>China & Lasers;
Chinese army is building lasers Weapons are able to hit U.S.
satellites
The Washington Times
China's People's Liberation Army is building lasers to destroy satellites and
already has beam weapons capable of damaging sensors on space-based
reconnaissance and intelligence systems, according to a Pentagon report.
Consequently, China could blind U.S. intelligence and military space
equipment, systems vital for deploying U.S. military forces in current and
future warfare.
The lasers also could be used to disrupt or cripple commercial
communications and navigation systems during "information warfare,"
according to the report mandated by Congress.
The report said the PLA has acquired a variety of technologies "that could
be used to develop an anti-satellite weapon." The report was released
recently by the House National Security Committee. It was mandated under
a provision of last year's defense bill.
"China already may possess the capability to damage, under specific
conditions, optical sensors on satellites that are very vulnerable to lasers,"
the report said.
"Given China's current level of interest in laser technology, it is reasonable to
assume that Beijing would develop a weapon that could destroy satellites in
the future."
The laser weapons capability is among several aspects of China's drive to
develop high-technology weapons and to engage in information warfare:
attacks on computers and other electronic systems.
The Congress asked the Pentagon to assess China's strategy and military
modernization efforts, including whether Beijing plans "to place weapons in
space or to develop Earth-based weapons capable of attacking
space-based systems."
U.S. intelligence officials said the systems most vulnerable to laser attack are
satellites run by the National Reconnaissance Office, which takes
photographs from space, and the National Security Agency, which
intercepts communications.
"We're very aware of the threat," one official said.
The ability to damage or destroy satellites will provide China with a strategic
weapon against the U.S. military, which relies heavily on the use of
spaced-based equipment for communicating with forces and detecting
foreign military activities, from troops movements to missile launches.
The United States has no anti-satellite weapons, or Asats, and abandoned
work on an aircraft-launched satellite killer in the 1980s.
Richard Fisher, a defense specialist with the Heritage Foundation, said the
Pentagon's disclosure of Chinese anti-satellite efforts "is an extremely
important revelation."
The Pentagon report shows that China is preparing its forces to wage not
only a "Desert Storm-level" of regional conflict but a 21st- century high-tech
war, he said.
Satellite vulnerabilities to lasers were revealed a year ago during the test
firing of a two lasers against a U.S. satellite that damaged its sensors after a
brief exposure to the beam. The test alarmed some Pentagon officials.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin then revealed in a letter to President Clinton
last year that Moscow had developed weapons capable of blasting satellites
in space, but had abandoned them. The Pentagon viewed the letter as
confirmation that Moscow retains the capability.
The report also said China is constructing electronic jammers, "which could
be used against Global Positioning System {GPS} receivers" - pinpoint
navigational devices used in all military operations and in the commercial
sector as well. Such jamming would severely hamper international
transportation.
"Exploitation of space - to include manned space operations - remains a high
priority," the report said, noting that China's first manned space flight is
expected before the end of next year. Manned space flight will contribute to
an "improved military space system," it said.
A White House report on U.S. national security strategy issued Friday said
the administration seeks to "deter threats to our interests in space, and if
deterrence fails, defeat hostile efforts against U.S. access to and use of
space."
Improvements in Chinese satellite technology are expected to enhance the
accuracy of China's M-9 and M-11 missiles, with ranges of 372 miles and
186 miles, respectively.
The report also said the PLA is using U.S. GPS and Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (Glonass) satellites in developing advanced weapons and
may use these satellites "to improve the accuracy of its missiles."
"GPS updates would provide the potential to improve missile accuracy
through midcourse guidance correction and increase the operational
flexibility of road-mobile platforms," the report said.
The road-mobile platforms include two new intercontinental ballistic missiles
identified by the Pentagon as the DF-31 and DF-41, which will have ranges
of 5,000 miles and 7,500 miles, respectively.
(Copyright 1998)
_____via IntellX_____
Publication Date: November 03, 1998
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