A Long March-11 carrier rocket carrying three satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 26, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
A senior official of US Space Force recently claimed that Chinese satellites engaged in "dogfighting" maneuvers in low Earth orbit. Such a claim however has been disputed by even the US experts, who also questioned the claim's "hostile intentions" as the US also undertakes it. Chinese observers saw the claim as a budget-driven ploy, and part of a broader effort to curb space advances by emerging powers and preserve US dominance in orbit.
According to Defense News, citing so-called commercial assets, Michael A Guetlein, vice chief of space operations of the US Space Force claimed on local time Tuesday at a defense conference that the force observed "five different objects in space maneuvering in and out and around each other in synchronicity and in control." He continued that "that's what we call dogfighting in space. They are practicing tactics, techniques and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another."
A US military spokesperson later elaborated on Guetlein's comments, asserting that the operation occurred in 2024 and involved three Shiyan-24C experimental satellites and two other Chinese experimental spacecraft, the Shijian-6 05 A and B.
The satellites, Shiyan-24C, launched in December 2023, would be mainly used for space science and technology experiments, Xinhua News Agency reported then.
The Shijian-6 05 satellites were launched in December 2021, and are used for space exploration and new technology test, according to Xinhua.
CNN questioned the use of "dogfighting," a term traditionally reserved for close-range aerial combat, noting it may not apply in the orbital context.
Experts told CNN that "given the physical dynamics in space, the maneuvers described by Guetlein as "dogfighting" would look very different from those in the air between fighter jets, in this case involving satellites maneuvering around one another using propellant."
Close maneuvering around other satellites could suggest the development of a counterspace weapon but it "might also suggest other purposes like in-space servicing or refueling. It could also be one satellite trying to take a picture of the other one," Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, told the CNN.
Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability of the US-based Secure World Foundation, said that "it's hard to say if this Chinese capability is something that the US doesn't have since we're learning about it from US commercial SSA (space situational awareness) companies, who are generally reluctant to discuss what US satellites are up to," she said.
Referring to China's operations as "dogfighting" in space is "not helpful" because it "automatically ascribes hostile intentions to activities that frankly the US also undertakes,' Samson added.
The US Space Force high-ranking official Guetlein also referenced several other concerning patterns of rival activity in orbit, from "near-peer" US adversaries. That includes Russia's 2019 demonstration of a "nesting doll" capability, where one satellite released a smaller spacecraft that then performed several stalking maneuvers near a US satellite, the Defense News report said.
"That capability gap used to be massive," Guetlein said. "We've got to change the way we look at space or that capability gap may reverse and not be in our favor anymore."
Guetlein's comments come as the Space Force ramps up its emphasis on establishing "superiority," or dominance, in space, encompassing both defensive and offensive operations, amid rising competition.
The claims surfaced just after Congress approved a $28.7 billion budget for the Space Force, $800 million short of its request, SpaceNews noted.
Chinese analysts said Guetlein's narrative is an attempt to justify higher military spending and hype "China, Russia threat theory" narrative, as well as to suppress emerging countries in space development.
Following US President Trump's return to office , the new administration aimed to cut military spending. Against this backdrop, various branches of the US military were desperate for budget increases and sought to secure more funding by hyping up so-called "threats" from China, Russia, and others, said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert.
The Trump administration has directed the Pentagon to reduce its budget by 8 percent annually over the next five years, according to a statement issued on February 19 by Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of Deputy Secretary of Defense, SpaceNews magazine reported.
China's space technology efforts are for peaceful purposes, dedicated to advancing human space technology. Satellite controlled maneuver, if any, could include recovery missions and space debris cleanup essential for future space sustainability, according to Song.
Such missions not only clean up Earth's orbit but also develop critical technologies for future space exploration. Humanity's exploring of the space in the future will involve numerous challenges, such as avoiding space debris and recovering defunct satellites, requiring satellites to have strong maneuverability. This, too, is a key demonstration of peaceful space use and a critical technical foundation, Song told the Global Times on Sunday.
