Intelligence experts say that the top-secret intelligence project which held up approval of the recent intelligence reform bill in the U.S. Senate is a satellite that would, or maybe already can, intercept and shut down other countries' spy satellites.
UPDATE: The Washington Post is now reporting that the program in question is a low-observable, "stealth" satellite project and not an anti-satellite weapon.
The U.S. military is spending $25 billion over 20 years to build the next generation of spy satellites. This will be the most expensive venture ever mounted by U.S. intelligence services. For its money, Washington expects to get a new system of electronic cameras that can be trained on potential trouble spots anywhere on the planet on a couple of hours' notice or less. It will be "an incredible improvement" in America's ability to spy from the sky, a U.S. official said in Washington. He said the satellites would be able to track objects as small as a baseball anywhere, anytime on the planet.
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office appeals to Congress for more funding for remote sensing satellites and space warfare projects.