This report examines the evolving deterrence dynamics between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the space domain. During the Cold War, nuclear deterrence helped maintain the peace between the United States and the Soviet Union, and it remains a cornerstone of U.S. defense policy today. However, for reasons both geopolitical and technological, the ability of any country to deter another from attacking its space assets is being called into question.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is acquiring and developing a range of counterspace capabilities and related technologies, including kinetic-kill missiles, ground-based lasers, and co-orbital satellites, as well as the space surveillance capabilities that enable their use. The use of these weapons against the U.S. space architecture could threaten U.S. military superiority by undermining the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that enable the U.S. military to operate in the Indo-Pacific and project power globally.
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