China’s People’s Liberation Army has deployed its submarine with a laser weapon in its midsection to counter military threats to Beijing, including from Elon Musk. Musk’s Starlink Which is covering the space above the earth with its satellites.
According to the South China Morning Post, China could destroy SpaceX. Starlink The satellites could be used if China’s security was threatened.
This has come to light in a study conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PNA).Pla) Led by Scientists Wang Dan, a professor at the Naval Submarine Academy, said the biggest challenge for anti-satellite missions is not hitting the satellite but hiding the attack, since a missile launch is often accompanied by a long plume of smoke.
“Taking the satellites launched by the Starlink programme as an example, they are numerous, densely packed and small in size, making the satellite network extremely resilient. Even if a large number of satellites are destroyed, there is redundancy to replace them. Therefore, it is highly inefficient to use missiles to attack such satellites,” Wang’s team said in a peer-reviewed paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal Command Control and Simulation.
“Submarine-based laser weapons can solve these problems”
This paper provides step-by-step guidance for attacking satellites like Starlink at sea.
“First, one or several submarines equipped with laser weapons are deployed in the sea area where the operation is to be carried out. They enter the target sea area as per command instructions and wait for the satellites to come within their attack range. The time to raise the laser weapon is determined based on the satellite overhead time obtained in advance,” he wrote.
“When the satellite enters the attackable range, the laser weapon is raised. Due to the limitations of the submarine’s detection equipment, attacking a satellite requires other forces to provide guidance to the satellite’s position. After the attack is completed, the submarine can submerge and wait for the next mission or return to its home port,” he said.
According to a Reuters report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently visited China in April and sought Beijing’s approval to roll out full self-driving (FSD) software in China and transfer its data abroad.
Although China works with the Tesla boss, it sees his SpaceX company as a threat.
China has more than 900 satellites in orbit, according to official data released this month. The US has seven times as many satellites, most of which are part of Starlink.
In 2021, two Starlink satellites came dangerously close to the Chinese space station, forcing astronauts to initiate emergency evacuation procedures. The incident convinced Beijing that the US could use these cheap satellites to attack China’s expensive space assets.
Starlink satellites primarily serve communications purposes, but recent successes in SpaceX’s Starship rocket test flight have fueled speculation among Chinese military analysts. They suggest that future Starlink iterations could potentially carry additional payloads for military functions such as reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Concerns are further fueled by the Starshield initiative, a collaboration between the Pentagon and SpaceX aimed at monitoring China’s hypersonic weapons.
The advancement of laser weapons involves significant technical challenges, including energy storage and optical precision. Despite these obstacles, China has accelerated its research efforts and has achieved notable successes, especially since the use of Starlink in the Ukraine conflict.
Recent innovations include robust power systems capable of supporting denser launches, compact but powerful solid-state lasers, and advanced optical fiber technology that enables high-quality power transmission in excess of 10,000 watts. Researchers have also explored applications such as creating surface air bubbles on submarines to reduce drag and generate silent shock waves for propulsion.
According to studies by Chinese scientists, submarines equipped with laser weapons could potentially be involved in a variety of missions, ranging from anti-satellite operations to the protection of merchant ships and strategic attacks on land-based targets such as radars and oil storage facilities. They propose that even a modest 150-kilowatt submarine-based laser could disable anti-submarine aircraft detection systems within seconds at a distance of more than 20 kilometers.
Strategic missile submarines crucial to nuclear deterrence are vulnerable to aerial threats. Submarines equipped with laser weapons can protect these assets by disrupting or disabling satellite surveillance systems, thereby concealing missile launch activities during nuclear retaliatory strike missions.
In addition, submarines offer advantages over surface warships for protecting merchant ships due to their stealthiness, endurance and autonomous navigation capabilities. Equipped with laser weapons, they can defend against aerial threats targeting merchant ships and target enemy surface ships using anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, the SCMP said in its report.
In addition, submarines can be deployed to target enemy ports, oil storage facilities, and critical infrastructure. Such actions can potentially impact enemy economies and public support for the wartime effort, influencing the duration and outcome of conflicts.
According to the South China Morning Post, China could destroy SpaceX. Starlink The satellites could be used if China’s security was threatened.
This has come to light in a study conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PNA).Pla) Led by Scientists Wang Dan, a professor at the Naval Submarine Academy, said the biggest challenge for anti-satellite missions is not hitting the satellite but hiding the attack, since a missile launch is often accompanied by a long plume of smoke.
“Taking the satellites launched by the Starlink programme as an example, they are numerous, densely packed and small in size, making the satellite network extremely resilient. Even if a large number of satellites are destroyed, there is redundancy to replace them. Therefore, it is highly inefficient to use missiles to attack such satellites,” Wang’s team said in a peer-reviewed paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal Command Control and Simulation.
“Submarine-based laser weapons can solve these problems”
This paper provides step-by-step guidance for attacking satellites like Starlink at sea.
“First, one or several submarines equipped with laser weapons are deployed in the sea area where the operation is to be carried out. They enter the target sea area as per command instructions and wait for the satellites to come within their attack range. The time to raise the laser weapon is determined based on the satellite overhead time obtained in advance,” he wrote.
“When the satellite enters the attackable range, the laser weapon is raised. Due to the limitations of the submarine’s detection equipment, attacking a satellite requires other forces to provide guidance to the satellite’s position. After the attack is completed, the submarine can submerge and wait for the next mission or return to its home port,” he said.
According to a Reuters report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently visited China in April and sought Beijing’s approval to roll out full self-driving (FSD) software in China and transfer its data abroad.
Although China works with the Tesla boss, it sees his SpaceX company as a threat.
China has more than 900 satellites in orbit, according to official data released this month. The US has seven times as many satellites, most of which are part of Starlink.
In 2021, two Starlink satellites came dangerously close to the Chinese space station, forcing astronauts to initiate emergency evacuation procedures. The incident convinced Beijing that the US could use these cheap satellites to attack China’s expensive space assets.
Starlink satellites primarily serve communications purposes, but recent successes in SpaceX’s Starship rocket test flight have fueled speculation among Chinese military analysts. They suggest that future Starlink iterations could potentially carry additional payloads for military functions such as reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Concerns are further fueled by the Starshield initiative, a collaboration between the Pentagon and SpaceX aimed at monitoring China’s hypersonic weapons.
The advancement of laser weapons involves significant technical challenges, including energy storage and optical precision. Despite these obstacles, China has accelerated its research efforts and has achieved notable successes, especially since the use of Starlink in the Ukraine conflict.
Recent innovations include robust power systems capable of supporting denser launches, compact but powerful solid-state lasers, and advanced optical fiber technology that enables high-quality power transmission in excess of 10,000 watts. Researchers have also explored applications such as creating surface air bubbles on submarines to reduce drag and generate silent shock waves for propulsion.
According to studies by Chinese scientists, submarines equipped with laser weapons could potentially be involved in a variety of missions, ranging from anti-satellite operations to the protection of merchant ships and strategic attacks on land-based targets such as radars and oil storage facilities. They propose that even a modest 150-kilowatt submarine-based laser could disable anti-submarine aircraft detection systems within seconds at a distance of more than 20 kilometers.
Strategic missile submarines crucial to nuclear deterrence are vulnerable to aerial threats. Submarines equipped with laser weapons can protect these assets by disrupting or disabling satellite surveillance systems, thereby concealing missile launch activities during nuclear retaliatory strike missions.
In addition, submarines offer advantages over surface warships for protecting merchant ships due to their stealthiness, endurance and autonomous navigation capabilities. Equipped with laser weapons, they can defend against aerial threats targeting merchant ships and target enemy surface ships using anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, the SCMP said in its report.
In addition, submarines can be deployed to target enemy ports, oil storage facilities, and critical infrastructure. Such actions can potentially impact enemy economies and public support for the wartime effort, influencing the duration and outcome of conflicts.
