US building up its defense of satellites from China threat

Bill Gertz:

China’s growing space warfare capabilities are prompting the Air Force to develop military space weapons to protect U.S. satellites and shoot down enemy systems, the commander of the Air Force Space Command said in an interview that will air on Sunday.

“It’s a competition I wish wasn’t occurring, but it is,” Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the space commander, tells CBS News.

“And if we’re threatened in space, we have the right of self defense and we’ll make sure we can execute that right.”

Asked if those defenses will involve military force, Hyten states: “That’s why we have a military … I’m not NASA.”

Hyten said some U.S. military satellites can maneuver to avoid attack but older ones cannot. “It depends on the satellite … when it was built … how old it is … when we know the threat is coming.”

The program reports that the United States has tested anti-satellite weapons in the past and spends an estimated 10 times more on space than the Chinese. The military space budget is around $25 billion annually, including spy satellites and secret programs, CBS reported.
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Space command seems to have gotten their attention.  The US satellite assets are seen as critical to the military's management of wars around the world.  The military appears determined not to allow China to take way their eyes and ears on the battlespace.