U.S. Intelligence Report Warns China May Deploy Space-Based Directed Energy Weapons by Late 2020s

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report warns that China is likely developing directed-energy weapons capable of disrupting, damaging or destroying satellites in orbit, potentially expanding the threat to American space assets in the coming years. The assessment highlights Beijing’s growing counterspace capabilities, including technologies that could temporarily blind satellite sensors or inflict permanent damage, as U.S. officials increasingly acknowledge Washington’s own military weapons in orbit.

The report, titled Challenges to Security in Space, is based largely on open-source information with a July cutoff date, the agency said.

The report said the People’s Liberation Army probably considers directed energy weapons ideal counterspace systems because they can cause reversible and irreversible effects against satellites ^[1]. The DIA report did not specify whether China is developing lasers, high-powered microwaves, particle beams or a combination, and the agency did not immediately respond to a request for more information, officials said ^[1].

The assessment adds to a growing body of public warnings from U.S. officials about Chinese military activities in orbit. In September 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink acknowledged during a keynote speech that the United States has weapons in orbit to protect American interests in space, declining to provide details, according to remarks at the Air & Space Forces Association conference ^[2][3]. The DIA report’s release comes as Washington is becoming more open about its own anti-satellite capabilities.

The report did not make new revelations about a specific Chinese directed energy program, but it stated that such capabilities could present a widening threat in the next few years, according to the document ^[1]. The DIA said China has developed and probably will continue to develop weapons for use against satellites in orbit to disrupt, damage and destroy adversary space capabilities.

Report Details Directed Energy Effects and China’s Expanding Orbital Presence

According to the DIA report, reversible attacks include jamming satellite signals or temporarily blinding optics, while irreversible attacks can cause permanent damage through laser burns, high-power microwave emissions or other methods ^[1]. The report stated that in 2021 PLA media asserted laser weapons were entering a golden age and cited dazzling, or temporarily blinding a sensor, as one operational use ^[1].

The DIA reported that as of July 2026, China’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet contained more than 510 systems, more than tripling since 2018 ^[1]. The report said dual-use capabilities and military-civil fusion policies mean collected data can be used by the PLA ^[1]. The DIA also cited Chinese spaceplane developments, confirming that an image circulating online shows an experimental Chinese reusable spaceplane in orbit ^[4].

The report further cited academic research since at least 2006 into aerospace engineering technologies associated with space-based kinetic weapons, according to the DIA ^[1]. Separate reporting has noted that Chinese scientists announced the country’s military can launch hundreds of mini-satellites called CubeSats from a large space-based mothership, devices weighing just 2.2 pounds each that require artificial intelligence for control ^[5].

Attribution Challenges and Known Anti-Satellite Capabilities Cited

The DIA report noted that China’s publicly known space-based anti-satellite capabilities center on satellites that can approach and grapple other satellites, including a 2022 maneuver in which a Chinese satellite was observed grabbing another and pulling it into a super-graveyard drift orbit ^[1].

The report characterized PLA anti-satellite doctrine as viewing such systems as useful deterrents against external involvement in a regional conflict or as a method to manage conflict escalation ^[1].

The attribution problem is not unique to directed energy. That report provided details about Beijing’s space-based weapon programs and cyber military strategies aimed at destroying or hacking U.S. satellites while disrupting American military communications ^[6].

The report’s findings also arrive amid broader military modernization efforts. The DIA assessment indicates that China’s own efforts in directed energy and counterspace capabilities will remain a central focus for U.S. intelligence analysts in the coming years.

References

1. U.S. Intel Warns China’s Space-Based Directed Energy Weapons Could Soon Threaten Satellites. https://www.twz.com/space/u-s-intel-warns-chinas-space-based-directed-energy-weapons-could-soon-threaten-satellites
2. Deployment of Weapons in Space Confirmed by U.S. Military – NaturalNews.com, September 22, 2026.
3. U.S. Admits It Has Weapons In Orbit. https://www.twz.com/space/u-s-admits-it-has-weapons-in-orbit
4. U.S. Intel Confirms This Is China’s Secret Spaceplane. https://www.twz.com/news-features/u-s-intel-confirms-this-is-chinas-secret-spaceplane
5. Russia China make stunning advances in anti-satellite drone swarms laser weapons to win space war – NaturalNews.com, July 19, 2022.
6. Chinese military planning cyber attacks against US satellites and computer systems to degrade Pentagon’s superiority – NaturalNews.com, October 20, 2015.

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