Space Defense & Militarization News

Payload

Shield Space launches UK coalition to build a space-based carrier strike force

Shield Space has launched the UK Space Superiority Coalition, bringing together space companies across the country to pursue a space-based carrier strike force. The announcement signals an effort to coordinate industry around a national space capability, though the available report provides no details on membership, funding or program milestones.

SpaceNews.com

Pentagon releases rare image of China’s Shenlong spaceplane, highlighting its payload bay and solar-panel configuration

A Pentagon report has published an unclassified Maxar image of China’s Shenlong spaceplane in orbit, captured in 2024. The image shows upward-opening doors over a central payload bay and a tail extension with solar panels on either side, offering unusually clear visual detail of a spacecraft whose missions and capabilities remain closely guarded.

SpaceWatch Global

DIA warns counterspace weapons, strategic cooperation and reliance on commercial satellites are raising space security threats

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency says counterspace weapons, strategic cooperation and growing reliance on commercial satellites are increasing threats to space security. The assessment highlights how military capabilities and commercial infrastructure are becoming central to the security risks facing the orbital environment.

SpaceWatch Global

Bundeswehr officer: AI can fuse space-based sensing, but human decision-making remains the bottleneck

Dr. Volker Pötzsch of the Bundeswehr’s Cyber and Information Domain Service discusses how space-based sensing can inform military decisions, the role of AI-driven data fusion and the human constraints in turning information into action. The interview frames data-to-decision capability as a central challenge for the German Armed Forces.

SpaceWatch Global

Germany’s Air Force chief signals readiness to retaliate as Berlin sets out a new space doctrine

Germany’s Air Force chief says the country would strike back if attacked, as Berlin articulates a new approach to space defense. The discussion highlights a €35 billion figure and unresolved questions over where Germany would draw red lines in responding to threats in space.

spaceanddefense.io

DIA warns China and Russia are expanding military and dual-use space capabilities

A new U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment says China and Russia are expanding military and dual-use space capabilities as competition over access to and control of Earth’s orbital environment intensifies. The warning frames orbital security as an increasingly contested strategic domain.

Breaking Defense

DIA warns China and Russia are expanding counterspace capabilities as China’s satellite fleet triples

A new Defense Intelligence Agency assessment says China has tripled its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet since 2018 and is expanding systems to track and target U.S. and allied forces. The report also reviews China’s reusable spaceplane and warns of growing Chinese and Russian counterspace capabilities, including potential directed-energy weapons in orbit.

Breaking Defense

Pentagon Halloween discussion ranges from space warfare to nuclear modernization

Three guests and host Mark discuss unsettling questions from their reporting beats, including the dangers of conflict in space and the complex effort to upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The cluster offers a broad look at two national-security challenges facing the Pentagon.