The satellites of Russia and China will come to an end: US launches new electronic warfare system into space
American weapons to suppress Chinese and Russian satellites will be ready for combat by 2024. Currently, China alone has more than 700 spy satellites in Earth orbit.
L3Harris has finally solved some technical problems with the modernization of the Meadowlands space-based electronic warfare system, and next year the system will be ready to jam Chinese and Russian satellites more effectively. This became known to Interesting Engineering.
The new system will not create “information space junk” because it is designed to create temporary, “reversible” interference with communication satellites. According to Bloomberg News, the Meadowlands mobile weapon is designed to “jam” enemy spacecraft in the early stages of an armed conflict.
The cost of the Meadowlands program is estimated at about $219 million, and it is a more optimized version of the “space-based electronic warfare” that began operating in early 2020. Although this system was supposed to be put into operation 2 years ago, the launch was postponed due to technical problems.
Problems encountered during the tests have been resolved and the program is moving into the final stages of integration and testing, Space Systems Command officials told Bloomberg News. The agency added that the technical problems were caused by unexpected issues that “required complex redesign of the units.”
Now, instead of the 14 equipment racks that the previous version of Meadowlands had, the new version is equipped with radar “dishes” mounted on wheeled trailers with only two racks, which simplifies deployment.
“Reducing the footprint and increasing the capacity of Meadowlands will greatly improve its function,” said Charles Galbraith, senior fellow at the Air Force Association.
And according to Major General Gregory Gagnon, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, Space Force, about half of China’s 700-plus satellites are currently used for remote sensing, reconnaissance, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
“Their armada of satellites in orbit can track us, can see us, can transmit data to their command and control network, and can put U.S. forces at risk that we don’t even know we’re at,” Gagnon added.
Representatives of the US Space Force announced plans to produce up to 30 units of the modernized Meadowlands system. And while military officials openly report on the offensive capabilities of China and Russia, they are reluctant to reveal their methods of protecting U.S. satellites from potential attacks in space.
