US Space Force monitors coordinated satellite moves amid rising space tensions

US Space Force’s Vice Chief of Space Operations, Gen. Michael Guetlein has highlighted recent demonstrations involving coordinated maneuvers of five satellites, which were monitored through space situational awareness data provided by commercial partners.

While speaking at the McAleese Annual Defense Programs Conference, Gen. Michael Guetlein said that US "near-peer" adversaries are practicing "dogfighting" in space to simulate orbital combat, stepping up their efforts to develop capabilities that could potentially deny, disrupt, degrade, or destroy US space capabilities, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He explained that the maneuvering of the five satellites in space — in and out of each other's orbits — was a form of "dogfighting" that demonstrates adversaries' ability to simulate on-orbit space operations.

“This is what we call dogfighting in space. They are practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to perform on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another,” Guetlein stated.

While Guetlein did not name the countries involved, a Space Force spokesperson later confirmed that the demonstration was carried out by China. The spokesperson explained that China had conducted proximity operations in 2024 involving three Shiyan-24C experimental satellites and two Shijian-6 05A/B experimental space objects in low Earth orbit (LEO).

A representative from LeoLabs, a Colorado-based space tracking firm, also confirmed observing the Chinese satellite maneuvers using ground-based radar. Additionally, the company reported an ongoing rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) involving Russian satellites.

Both China and Russia have demonstrated RPO capabilities, with two spacecraft closely maneuvering in low Earth orbit, raising concerns within the Department of Defense. US officials have also warned that China has used its satellites to track US government and commercial satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO).

Guetlein noted that these new satellite maneuvers reflect an evolving space threat landscape, one that is narrowing the technological gap between the US and its adversaries. "The environment has completely changed. The capability gap that used to be massive is significantly narrowing," he said, urging the Space Force to adapt to this new reality and "deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression" in space.

The term "dogfighting" may conjure images of fast-paced space battles, but Guetlein emphasized that space warfare is a slower affair. Satellite maneuvers can take hours, days, or even weeks, due to the constraints of physics in space.

Despite the slow pace of space combat, the term underscores the Space Force's focus on enhancing its capabilities to establish "space superiority." This includes developing both defensive and offensive "space control" operations to protect US assets and potentially counter adversary satellites.

Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, reinforced the importance of space superiority during the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Conference in Colorado earlier this month. "Space superiority is the reason that we exist as a service," Saltzman said. He explained that the Space Force’s newest "core function," known as "space control," will help the US contest and control the space domain through both kinetic and non-kinetic means, including orbital warfare and electromagnetic warfare.

By Naila Huseynova