The compact pulse-power driver could enable high-power microwave attacks that are harder to detect and attribute than conventional anti-satellite weapons, potentially putting China ahead of the United States and Russia in the space-weapons race.
China has developed a new piece of military technology that could one day be used to disrupt satellite networks such as Starlink, according to a study.
Researchers at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology (NINT), a research facility linked to the Chinese military in Xi’an, say they have built the world’s smallest driver for a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon, a system that could potentially be used to disrupt satellite networks such as Starlink.
The device, known as TPG1000Cs, measures about four metres long and weighs roughly five tons, making it significantly smaller than comparable systems.
“The system has demonstrated stable operation over continuous one-minute durations, accumulating approximately 200,000 pulses with consistent performance,” the study said.
Until now, similar known systems could only operate continuously for no more than just a few seconds and were far bulkier, making them difficult to install in smaller weapons systems.
The TPG1000Cs system can generate electrical pulses reaching 20 gigawatts, according to the study. This far exceeds the roughly 1 gigawatt output that experts say a ground-based microwave weapon would need to potentially disrupt low-Earth-orbit satellite networks such as Starlink.
How does it work?
The United States, Russia, and China have all been exploring whether high-power microwave technology could be developed into weapons capable of disrupting satellites.
Destroying satellites using conventional weapons can create large clouds of orbital debris that may threaten other spacecraft, including those belonging to the attacking country.
Microwave weapons, in contrast, could theoretically disable electronics without creating significant debris, potentially offering strategic advantages and a degree of plausible deniability.
These weapons store electrical energy and then release it in a sudden, powerful burst. This pulse can produce intense microwave radiation that can disrupt electronics.
Starlink satellite communications have been used to support Ukraine’s communications infrastructure during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thanks to demonstrated resilience against jamming attempts.
The study was published in the Chinese journal High Power Laser and Particle Beams on January 13.
China has published a number of studies in recent years discussing the need to develop ways to disrupt large satellite constellations, including Elon Musk’s Starlink network.
Researchers say the breakthrough was made possible by a special liquid insulating material called Midel 7131.
“By adopting a high-energy-density liquid dielectric Midel 7131 and a dual-width pulse-forming line, the study achieved miniaturisation of an integrated Tesla transformer and pulse-forming system,” scientists wrote in the study.
