China and Russia are developing weapons capable of attacking U.S. satellites, according to a new report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The report also found a massive increase in Chinese and Russian space assets over the past several years.
“Space is being increasingly militarized,” the report (pdf) states. “Some nations have developed, tested, and deployed various satellites and some counterspace weapons.”
The report, titled “2022 Challenges to Security in Space,” found that the combined in-orbit space fleets of China and Russia grew by more than 70 percent in the period from 2019 to 2021. That growth, it said, was driven largely by a desire by the two regimes to “exploit” U.S. technological reliance on space-based infrastructure.
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