Space & Astronomy

US Space Force acquires first offensive weapon

By T.K. Randall
April 27, 2020 ·  0 comments

The US Space Force's newest acquisiton. Image Credit: USAF / Airman 1st Class Andrew Bertain Back in June 2018, the US President announced the formation of a new branch of the US military - a 'Space Force' that would help to prevent countries such as China and Russia taking the lead off-world.

Then, in March of this year, the first Space Force satellite was launched - a 'critical' communications platform that would enable the President to remain in contact with other countries no matter what.

Since then, it has been revealed that the fledgling branch of the US military has also acquired its first offensive weapon - a satellite jamming array capable of blocking enemy access to military satellites.

Known formally as the Counter Communications Systems (CCS) Block 10.2, the new mobile jamming platform can be mounted either on an airplane or on a ground vehicle.

"The Counter Communications System is a transportable satellite communications system that provides a ground-based capability to reversibly deny adversary satellite communications," said program manager Maj. Seth Horner."CCS has had incremental upgrades since the early 2000's, which have incorporated new techniques, frequency bands, technology refreshes, and lessons learned from previous block upgrades. This specific upgrade includes new software capabilities to counter new adversary targets and threats."

It's not clear exactly who or what the US Space Force intends to use the new platform against at the present time and much of the technical specifics of its operation remain a closely guarded secret.

"CCS is the only offensive system in the United States Space Force arsenal," said Lt. Col. Steve Brogan.

"This upgrade puts the 'force' in Space Force and is critical for Space as a warfighting domain."

Source: Interesting Engineering | Comments (0)

Tags: Space Force