The USA House Drive is conducting a coaching train designed to coach guardians how you can conduct “reside hearth” satellite jamming.
The coaching, often known as “Black Skies,” is a part of a brand new collection of workouts designed to give attention to particular expertise during which Space Force expects its guardians to be proficient, in keeping with a report published by Breaking Defense (opens in new tab). Following Black Skies, which is concentrated on satellite jamming, the service will conduct “Crimson Skies” to coach in orbital warfare, adopted by “Blue Skies,” which is able to give attention to cyber warfare.
The coaching comes as each ground-based and orbital threats to personal and U.S. military-owned satellites proceed to proliferate, threatening to show space right into a battlefield within the occasion of a serious battle between space-faring nations.
Associated: Russia is jamming GPS satellite signals in Ukraine, US Space Force says
In line with Breaking Protection’s report, the train concerned the usage of a industrial satellite leased from a non-public agency to function a coaching goal. It was not acknowledged which firm allowed its satellite to be jammed.
Maj. Gen. Shawn Bratton, commander of House Coaching and Readiness Command (STARCOM), instructed Breaking Protection that STARCOM is wanting into whether or not or not it might probably purchase its personal satellites to function devoted “reside hearth” coaching workouts like Black Skies. The command is exploring partnering with universities that function their very own cubesats to construct out a fleet of goal satellites. “We’re in planning, and looking for the best method ahead,” Bratton stated.
As militaries worldwide proceed to rely on satellites for important intelligence, communications, and early warning programs, it is no shock that the power to jam or otherwise disrupt them is changing into a high precedence for armed forces worldwide.
U.S. House Drive officers have beforehand reported that GPS satellites have been jammed all through Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. “Ukraine might not be capable of use GPS as a result of there are jammers round that stop them from receiving any usable sign,” Gen. David Thompson, the House Drive’s vice chief of space operations, said in April 2022. “Definitely the Russians perceive the worth and significance of GPS and attempt to stop others from utilizing it.”
The House Drive already performed “simulated on-orbit combat engagements” in a “contested, degraded and operationally-limited setting” at a earlier STARCOM coaching train in August 2022.
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