DIA: China to Deploy ASAT Laser by 2020

China’s President Xi Jinping / Getty Images

 

China, Russia also set to use anti-satellite missiles

China’s military is expected to deploy a laser weapon capable of destroying or damaging U.S. military satellites in low earth orbit in the next year, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency disclosed in a report on space threats.

The Chinese directed energy weapon is among an array of space warfare tools that include ground-based anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles, electronic jammers, cyber attacks, and small satellites Beijing plans to use in attacks on U.S. satellites in a future conflict.

Watch The US Navy’s New Laser Weapon Take Out Two Ships [VIDEO]

 

The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday that a new laser weapon deployed into Persian Gulf earlier this year performed seamlessly during testing that wrapped up in November, and declared the weapon a success.

Israel’s Laser Beam Defense System Can Blow Up Incoming Rockets In Mid Air

Israel has plans to deploy a missile-defense laser called Iron Beam, a high-powered weapon that can heat up incoming short-range missiles until they explode, Israeli media reported over the weekend. Though seldom actually used, laser weapons technology like this has actually been around for years, and is increasingly common throughout the world. Laser missile-defense systems were first developed in the United States, and the American government subsidized the Israeli Iron Beam program, Reuters reported.