China’s Satellite Fleet Poses Threats to US Troops in Potential Pacific Conflict: Space Force Intel Chief

With China’s boosted military intelligence gathering ability in space, the U.S. military no longer holds a monopoly.

China's Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

China has achieved a strategic breakout in space, now deploying a vast network of satellites capable of targeting U.S. forces, should a conflict break out between the two nations in the western Pacific, according to the U.S. Space Force’s intelligence chief.

“The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] has rapidly advanced in space in a way that few people can really appreciate,” Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Gagnon, deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, told the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on May 2.