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US-China relations
ChinaMilitary

US Space Force’s ‘orbital carrier’ risks escalating arms race, China’s PLA warns

Citing potential for rapid launch of weaponisable satellites, Chinese military cautions US transport craft programme threatens space security

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US company Gravitics recently won a lucrative contract to provide a “game-changer” for the US Space Force “orbital carrier” vehicle, raising new concerns for the PLA. Photo: Gravitics
Enoch Wong
China’s military has warned that a plan by the US Space Force to deploy “orbital carriers” will accelerate an arms race in space.

In a commentary published on Thursday by the PLA Daily, an expert from the People’s Liberation Army Space Engineering University pointed to a recent US$60 million contract awarded by the US Space Force to develop an orbital transport craft. The article said the project would “boost US war-fighting strength, yet intensify the two nations’ military rivalry and threaten space security”.

The article, published under the name Wang Tiantian, appeared to refer to a contract granted to the Seattle-based space infrastructure company Gravitics.

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The firm announced in March that it was creating a “game-changer” system that it expected to have launched for demonstration as early as 2026. The carrier could deploy “multiple manoeuvrable space vehicles” within hours – instead of days or weeks – using conventional launchers to counter possible threats, the company said.

At a defence conference in March, Michael Guetlein, US Space Force vice-chief of space operations, said the service was shifting towards “a warfighting force”.

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Guetlein listed escalating threats, including China’s 2024 low-orbit manoeuvres involving five synchronised satellites conducting “dogfighting” drills, and Russia’s use of jamming and laser systems, alongside concerns that Moscow may be arming satellites with nuclear warheads.
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