DIA: China Set for Laser Attacks on Satellites
29th October 2026
China’s military is developing directed-energy weapons to attack U.S. military satellites in a future conflict, according to a new Defense Intelligence Agency report on space security threats.
The report made public this week states that the People’s Liberation Army views laser and other beam weapons as “ideal counterspace weapons” based on their ability to cause both reversible and nonreversible damage to orbiting enemy satellites.
“China has multiple ground-based laser weapons with varying power levels to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites in [low earth orbit],” the report said. “By the late-2020s, China may field space-based directed energy systems and higher-powered ground-based directed energy systems capable of threatening satellites in higher orbits.”