China’s new satellite-hunting radar aims to blind US

Asia Times ^

[FarCenter]

China’s new electronically scanned array radar aims to blunt the military advantages long provided by satellite intelligence, raising proliferation concerns in Washington and other Western capitals.

The 10-meter-tall SLC-1 radar unveiled at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow can detect and track low-orbiting satellites and predict their paths, its manufacturer China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) claimed at the show, the South China Morning Post reported last week.

The state-owned Chinese company also claimed that the SLC-18 high-power, low-frequency P-band radar can function around the clock in all weather conditions and has an exceptionally large search range.

With proper geographic positioning, an SLC-18 radar network can monitor all satellites traveling over a specific area and predict the arrival of others, enabling commanders on the ground to respond, the company said.

According to CETC deputy manager Sun Rui, the SLC-18 “can detect satellites from a distance and can identify and categorize them to form a radar database that can help other equipment respond accordingly… at the same time, it sends data on the satellites to the command center to assist in decision making.”

Sun noted that the US currently deploys constellations of low-orbit surveillance satellites, meaning that a detection system needs to be able to detect, identify and react quickly. He said that the use of satellite surveillance in modern warfare makes it imperative for militaries to have satellite tracking capabilities over a specific area to avoid detection, engage in deception maneuvers or jam enemy satellites.

From a proliferation perspective, the SLC-18 may be available for export, with Pakistan, Iran and North Korea as possible allied customers.

[FarCenter]

Long story with more on satellite countermeasures.

[Thunder90]

Russia has similar systems as well.

[Blueflag]

The ability to find and track non-air-breathing assets is not new.

The growing ability of adversaries to blind them is a threat that the United States Space Force is tasked with handling.

There’s an old saying - ‘if the enemy is in range, you are in range.’ Point being radiating RADAR sites are REALLY easy to detect and pinpoint.

[Yo-Yo]

There’s an old saying - ‘if the enemy is in range, you are in range.’ Point being radiating RADAR sites are REALLY easy to detect and pinpoint.

And they can be taken out in a shooting war, but you're not going to blow them up during peacetime, and that's when you need this sort of intelligence gathering the most.

[hardspunned]

If the Russians don’t have the technology, they soon will. The Chicoms would most definitely want to test against the systems it was exclusively designed for. What better opportunity than in the Uke quagmire? People discount the windfall of information about our systems and their counter systems gained in this CF. I don’t.

[Gen.Blather]

There’s no effort made to disguise satellites because every ounce of mass costs thousands of dollars to get into orbit. To this point just designing the satellites and getting them into orbit was the one and only task. But going forward satellites will need to be designed like stealth aircraft. That means those big solar panels will need to be replaced with something else...perhaps the nuclear batteries that powered the Voyager space craft. It means hiding the body of the satellite in radar absorbing or scattering panels.

With each new advance in detection will come new advances in avoiding detection. I can tell you from having worked with NASA that they are dead set against innovation* or any idea not-invented-here. We’ll have to suffer badly in the next war for NASA to move off their bureaucratic butts.

* About two decades ago the Air Force went to NASA wanting to design and launch a satellite for four million dollars. The NASA rep laughed and said, “four million? We can’t do the study for that.” The Air Force did it alone and had money left over. But it takes letting the general unwashed public into the race to actually get innovation.

[FtrPilot]

My guess is these radars are accurate enough to aim high power lasers which would blind or disable the satellite.

[butlerweave]

The reason why an SR-71 replacement is needed

[Blueflag]

One has to remember that ‘space-and-time’ in various orbits is information that has to be carefully watched so that assets with various owner do not collide, even if ‘they’ do not know if ‘you’ are there.

Also, once placed into orbit there’s an onboard fuel-limited amount of orbital variability, so the satellites are generally in predictable orbits.

Re-tasking (new orbit) a major intelligence asset goes REALLY high up the command. I have a relative who worked for the the NRO and he would just roll his eyes at scenes in movies where satellites were shifted, pretty much at will, to see something new.

[linMcHlp]

Did the Chinese recently launch a small satellite from their space station?

[Yo-Yo]

One has to remember that ‘space-and-time’ in various orbits is information that has to be carefully watched so that assets with various owner do not collide, even if ‘they’ do not know if ‘you’ are there.

It's not the tracking aspect of this new phased array radar, it is the jamming aspect that is so important.

[Gen.Blather]

“My guess is these radars are accurate enough to aim high power lasers which would blind or disable the satellite.”

While that’s true, if you can’t see the satellite in the first place the lasers are not useful. Also, Honeywell, where I worked, had a mechanism to protect the cameras way back in the eighties. It instantly darkened the Lense to protect the sensor. The laser would need to be strong enough to destroy the satellite.

One method of destroying satellites is to throw up a lot of material in their path. Even a few small hits would likely do the trick.

The Chinese have launched satellites to the Legrange point and are claiming they can see just as well as the ones in low orbit. I doubt the claim, but they’d still have some utility as they’re probably good enough to spot carrier groups and they have the advantage of being out of range of any antisat systems I’m aware of.

[cgbg]

We have had “blinding satellite” technology since the late 1970s tested and deployed at Kirtland AFB in NM. It is so old that the project (which was actually an NSA operation on AF property) is now declassified.

At this point I would expect that more nations than just Russia and China have the technology.

[Blueflag]

I understand.

All over DoD “Resilient communications” - ie degraded and contested RF environments - is a big deal.

[Blueflag]

I know you get this, but if you are radiating that much RF, you represent a big fat target. Ya can’t hide that.

[Blueflag]

Yessir.

Like I wrote, the USSF has this mission and there’s a lot of RPP/OTAs out there as well for the ‘science projects’ addressing the threats and counter-measures.

[Alas Babylon!]

We've developed these phased array radar systems in the 1970s.

I was stationed at the one on Cape Cod in 1979.

The Cape Cod system reached Initial operating capability (IOC) as the Cape Cod Missile Early Warning Station on 4 April 1981 with initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) completed 21 May; Beale AFB reached IOC on 15 August. The two PAVE PAWS, three BMEWS, and the PARCS & FPS-85 radar stations transferred to Strategic Air Command (then Space Command) in 1983. By 1981 Cheyenne Mountain was providing 6,700 messages per hour including those based on input from the PAVE PAWS and the remaining FSS-7 stations. In 1981, as part of the Worldwide Military Command and Control System Information System (WIS), the Pentagon's National Military Command Center was receiving data "directly from the Satellite Early Warning System (SEWS) and directly from the PAVE PAWS sensor systems".

[Gen.Blather]

“Did the Chinese recently launch a small satellite from their space station?”

I have no idea. Since I’ve retired, I haven’t been keeping up on who does what in the military arena. It’s much easier to sleep that way. I used to have total confidence in the military and the FBI/CIA. But since Obama’s days I’ve witnessed deterioration in our defenses, our doctrine and lots of plain old stupidity. I just pray the rest of the world is equally stupid.

[Vaduz]

Crap were slipping into a Star wars script by the day

Jim we need a new plan

[linMcHlp]

Tx. I wondered because of the Chinese space flight stories:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/search?s=Chinese+space&ok=Search&q=deep&m=all&o=time&SX=63725d7bd16ef699d55d2ff3679988ad886fa205