Brandon J. Weichert
United States Air Force Brigadier General Doug Wickert, the commander of the Air Force’s 412th Test Wing, warned an audience of airmen that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is preparing to conduct a Pearl Harbor-style attack on the United States as part of China’s larger effort to conquer Taiwan. Gen. Wickert’s nearly 40-minute talk is available for viewing on YouTube, and it already has well over 400,000 views.
What’s missing from the speech, though, is what form Beijing’s surprise attack might take. The general fixates on known Chinese military training designed to condition Chinese forces to target US Navy warships—particularly the Ford-class aircraft carrier. If the Chinese are going to be successful, though, they will have to conduct a full-spectrum attack upon US assets in space, cyberspace, and the Chinese will have to disrupt the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum.
China Is Undoubtedly Planning a Space Pearl Harbor
Sweeping attacks executed upon critical US satellite architecture will be key for any Chinese invasion of Taiwan to go forward with a modicum of success. Recall that a coterie of military and private sector imaging satellites operate in low-Earth orbit (LEO). These systems will be key for giving the Americans situational awareness if the Chinese military mobilizes to invade Taiwan. Beijing understands this, and has doubtless concluded that blinding those satellites will be a critical first step in a military attack.
China is well-equipped for such a strike. It has prepared a novel anti-satellite (ASAT) laser weapon at the Koral East Test Site in Xinjiang Province. In 2023, the Financial Times reported that the Chinese ASAT laser operates prolifically during what is known as the “solar moon” phase of Earth’s orbit—the period of the day in which many US imaging satellites are most active near China. According to the Financial Times, these lasers fired at undefended American imaging satellites can “seize control of a satellite, rendering it ineffective to support communications, weapons, or intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.”
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