Military official says US 'ready to fight in space' against threats posed by 'provocative' nations

A senior military official said that the United States is prepared for space conflict after developing anti-satellite technologies to tackle the risks posed by "provocative" countries such as Russia and China.

The space race has intensified and nations are ramping up their space industry with an aim to stay ahead of other nations. In recent times, space gradually became a new area of competition between China and the US.

The world's two largest economies, which are rivals when it comes to military influence and diplomacy, are planning to land astronauts on the moon. China hopes to do it before 2030, whereas the US claims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Jesse Morehouse, the deputy director of strategy, plans, and policy at US Space Command stated that Russian aggression and China's goal of becoming the dominant space power by mid-century have left the US with "no choice" but to prepare for orbital fights.

Last week, Brig Gen Morehouse was in London to discuss the combined space capabilities of the two countries at a conference called the Space Operations Summit 2023, The Guardian reported.

While speaking at a press conference, he told reporters that the US embassy that America was "ready to fight tonight in space if we had to".

'We are ready to fight'

As quoted, he said, "If someone was to threaten the United States of America, or any of our interests, including those of our allies and partners with whom we have treaties of mutual defence support, we are ready to fight tonight."

To tackle such threat, there are anti-satellite capabilities and four countries - China, the US, India and Russia - have even tested it by destroying their own satellites with missiles from the ground.

But the US unilaterally banned such action last year because of issues regarding debris, and decades-long risk to other satellites.

Some nations, including the Netherlands, Austria and Italy, have followed America's lead and pledged not to perform "destructive" anti-satellite (ASAT) tests.

In 2021, Russia shot down one of its own satellites and the explosion showered its orbit with more than 1,500 trackable fragments.

Weighing in, Morehouse said recently that "when you create that debris cloud and it lingers on orbit for decades, it's almost like detonating a nuclear weapon in your own backyard. You pay the price too".

As reported, Morehouse said on Thursday the US would continue to develop anti-satellite technologies "not because we want to fight tonight, but because that’s the best way to deter conflict from happening". He further added that it would do so "without engaging in irresponsible tests".

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