The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has concluded a weeklong live-fire exercise that involved testing command and control, long-range maneuvers and electromagnetic warfare exercises.
Israel embarks on a major expansion of its military space capabilities with the upcoming launch of the Ofeq-7 imaging satellite and at least three additional spacecraft by 2011.
Five months after the Chinese proved they could destroy a satellite in orbit, U.S. lawmakers are responding with a surge in spending on Pentagon space programs aimed at protecting U.S. satellites. The boost in spending benefits the Operationally Responsive Space program and efforts to modernize the U.S. space surveillance network.
If U.S. forces strike Iranian nuclear facilities, Iranian officials say Tehran will respond by triggering all-out regional war. "Ballistic missiles would be fired in masses against targets in Arab gulf states and Israel," one Foreign Ministry official said. "The objective would be to overwhelm U.S. missile defense systems with dozens and maybe hundreds of missiles fired simultaneously at specific targets."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is creating automated kill zones around the Gaza Strip aimed at halting infiltrations by terrorists, arms smugglers and other hostile individuals. Now in final stages of operational testing, the "See-Shoot" system will add weapons to the network of overlapping sensors already deployed along the approximately 60-kilometer border separating Israel from the Palestinian coastal territory.
A new U.S. report that says China's nuclear strategy could result in an unnecessary nuclear conflict has grabbed the attention of Asian strategic analysts and the Western defense community.
Japan is considering revising its "Space Basic Law" to allow for the creation of an executive-level Space Strategy Headquarters that would promote the use of space for self-defense purposes. The move is seen as a response to the growing threat from North Korea.
In an indirect rebuke of Chinese muscle-flexing in space, Israel's defense minister and Air Force chief warned that emerging anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities in the hands of regional adversaries would require Israel to deploy its own defenses against anti-satellite threats.
A senior U.S. State Department official said Dec. 13 that the United States opposes a ban on weapons in space, citing the threat of nations acquiring ways to attack U.S. space systems.
Michael Krepon critiques the new National Space Policy, arguing that "[r]esponsible space-faring nations do not engage in practices that make satellites more vulnerable, and they do not foreclose a Code of Conduct to help secure the vital services that satellites provide."