China military must be able to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites if they threaten national security: scientists
- Researchers call for development of anti-satellite capabilities including ability to track, monitor and disable each craft
- The Starlink platform with its thousands of satellites is believed to be indestructible
According to a paper published last month, China needs to develop anti-satellite capabilities, including a surveillance system with unprecedented scale and sensitivity to track and monitor every Starlink satellite.
The study was led by Ren Yuanzhen, a researcher with the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications under the PLA’s Strategic Support Force. Co-authors included several senior scientists in China’s defence industry.
Ren and his colleagues could not immediately be reached for comment and it is uncertain to what extent their view represents an official stance of the Chinese military or government.
“A combination of soft and hard kill methods should be adopted to make some Starlink satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation’s operating system,” said the paper, published in domestic peer-reviewed journal Modern Defence Technology.
Starlink is the most ambitious satellite communication project ever, providing broadband internet services to commercial and military users around the globe.