China may field space-based directed-energy weapons by late 2020s, DIA says

The Defense Intelligence Agency's new unclassified space threat assessment warned that China is developing weapons able to threaten satellites in orbit. Directed-energy weapons can be used to permanently or temporarily disable a satellite, Ars Technica reported, citing the agency.

"China has multiple ground-based laser weapons with varying power levels to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites in LEO," the DIA said in the report. "By the late 2020s, China may field space-based directed energy systems and higher-powered ground-based directed energy systems capable of threatening satellites in higher orbits."

The Chinese military likely considers directed-energy weapons "ideal counterspace systems," the DIA said in the report. Russia is pursuing its own orbital combat program, which includes an ambition to deploy a nuclear weapon in space, according to U.S. intelligence officials, Ars Technica wrote.