Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: RAND

A new RAND Corporation report suggests that although China continues to lag behind the United States in terms of aggregate military hardware and operational skills, it has improved its capabilities relative to those of the United States in many critical areas.

Regarding space capabilities, the report includes these chapters:

— U.S. Counterspace Capabilities Versus Chinese Space Systems

— Chinese Counterspace Capabilities Versus U.S. Space Systems

From RAND report: The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power 1996–2017.

The report observes:

1)

While dedicated U.S. counterspace capabilities are limited, the United States could considerably augment its existing capabilities with dual-use systems. Whether U.S. leaders would choose to do so in a war with China is questionable, given China’s ability to respond with attacks on U.S. space capabilities and the greater degree to which the U.S. military depends on those systems for force enhancement. However, should the PLA attack U.S. space systems first, U.S. leaders might have little to lose in striking back.

2)

Chinese counterspace capabilities are increasing across the board, though not necessarily at a uniform pace. In a number of areas, the U.S. military is taking steps to mitigate the threat. Whether these efforts succeed in making U.S. systems safe or, at least, unattractive targets should a U.S.-China conflict occur will depend on what investments the United States makes in space defense in the coming years and whether it can find ways to reduce its systems’ vulnerabilities.

From the RAND report: The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power 1996–2017

The entire RAND report, “The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power 1996–2017,” can be found at:

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR300/RR392/RAND_RR392.pdf