Pointing to an increased focus on the West’s vulnerability in space, the interim head of Nato’s innovative defence body, James Appathurai, warned that Russia and China were “investing quite a lot” in anti-satellite capabilities.
“So we need robust architectures against jamming, against cyber-attacks, but against also kinetic attacks. And all of these are very real.”
Former Nato Commander Sir Nicholas Borton emphasised the massive disparity in scale between Western space capabilities and those of hostile nations.
Nato and European military chiefs warn of growing aggression in space (Photo: Nasa/Roscosmos/ Handout via Reuters)
Borton added that there is a “mismatch” in capability, and the UK is currently “woefully behind” its adversaries. He urged the Government to increase its “scale” to compete, pointing to the UK’s £10bn investment in its Space Command over the coming years as a step in the right direction.
“We’re dealing not just with China, or not just with Russia, or not just with North Korea. We’re dealing with an axis of aggression who are all operating together, and we need a strategic plan in space and on Earth to deal with all of those actors together,” he said.
Satellites are a critical infrastructure
Modern satellites, first designed to deliver GPS signals across space, have grown in strategic importance in both military and everyday life.
Ukraine’s defence Intelligence Directorate (GUR) recently reported that more than 1,500 Russian targets worth billions of dollars have been destroyed over the past two years thanks to imagery from Ukraine’s radar satellite, while aspects of daily life, including banking, air travel, telecommunications, and even health care are reliant on space-based systems.
The deployment of weapons of mass destruction or military activities in space is banned by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 which was signed by over 100 countries including Russia, China, and the United States. However, growing geopolitical tensions and inventive new methods of hybrid warfare has brought the prospect of attacks in space into view.
China launches the SQX-1 Y10 commercial carrier rocket into space (Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)In July, Chinese researchers openly proposed methods to disrupt Ukranian military capabilities by wiping out Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite constellation with lasers and sabotage tactics.
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The developments have forced Nato to see designated space as a new operational domain, alongside air, land, sea and cyberspace while The European Space Agency recently announced the investment of €1 billion in a new military-grade satellite network.
“Russia’s hybrid and total war strategy in Europe is clear – from attacks on Ukraine to sabotage in Germany, disruption of Baltic communication lines, and ongoing interference in political processes across the region,” Kubilius said “These actions show that hybrid threats are happening now, and we must respond with higher investments and even stronger technology.”
A call for greater defences
“There is real space defence systems… and anti-satellite capabilities, that, of course, in comparison to the US and China, that’s the problem,” she said. “I should underline the sad point that there is a real (EU) dependence on US satellite communication system and that is the gap.”
Wachowicz said collaboration was “absolutely needed” and allied nations needed to be working harder together to defend themselves from space.
“We need to do that as sovereign nations, but in a federated network with our allies,” she said. “And work out how we’re going to share the problem all together so we can keep ourselves safe.”
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