Not long ago, the information support unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was established, and the existence of the military space force was made public at the same time. A few days later, Gagnon, the head of US satellite intelligence, said in public: The PLA is breaking the US monopoly in space. He commented that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has made rapid progress in the field of space and has made great achievements that only a very small number of people can understand. The "very few" here are, of course, the US Space Force. What is this kind of monopoly? At the beginning of the 21st century, the U.S. Air Force once said that it would adopt a global strike strategy, that is, it would be able to strike at any target in the world at any time from the United States mainland. To do this, military satellites are an indispensable means of support.
Reconnaissance satellites are used to obtain information such as the location and nature of targets, and to conduct long-term surveillance. Navigation and positioning satellites are used to provide navigation for their launch platforms and strike munitions. Communication satellites are used to carry out command and control and the transmission of target information. After the strike is completed, reconnaissance satellites are also used to observe and evaluate the effect of the strike. If the target is completely destroyed, the combat operation is over, otherwise it is necessary to come to replenish the gun. Such a type of combat requires a powerful satellite capability that covers the whole world. At the end of the Cold War, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union at that time possessed such capabilities, and the satellite system could only provide some strategic intelligence for the top command and decision-makers.
Through the practice of the Gulf War and the War on Terror, the US military has initially achieved such a combat capability. But "from the American mainland", this is still not possible. The US military still needs to deploy a large number of combat aircraft and ships around the world. But even then, this is beyond the reach of other countries, and the hegemony of the United States is largely supported by this ability.
The rise of China's space technology, including the joint efforts of the national team and commercial space companies, has led to a significant increase in the number of Chinese satellites. At present, China already has a complete system of communications, navigation, remote sensing, and meteorological satellites. The publicly released satellite models include the Beidou Satellite Navigation and Positioning System, the High-Resolution Earth Observation Satellite System, the Jilin No. 1 Constellation, the Gaojing Constellation, and a large number of small multi-functional remote sensing satellite systems. Although China does not yet have a global satellite communication system, it is judging from the information released by relevant companies in recent years. For China to deploy such a constellation, there are no technical difficulties, it is only a matter of money. More importantly, China has made bold innovations in satellite technology, implementing technologies that many Americans once thought about but did not realize. For example, Gagnon revealed that China launched a geosynchronous orbit synthetic aperture radar satellite in August 2023, called Land Exploration No. 4 01, which is the only one in the world so far, and Gagnon believes that this is a military satellite. Because the naval warships of the United States and its allies, the merchant ships requisitioned for military missions, could not escape its eyes. The advantage of this satellite is that it is constantly dangling over East Asia, and for most of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, it can conduct continuous surveillance for a long time, just like live broadcasting, which is a capability that the US military and US commercial companies have not yet had.
Of course, the PLA will not disclose which satellites it owns and how they use them. However, it can be said with great confidence that we do have sufficient capability to carry out long-distance reconnaissance, surveillance, command and control, and communications in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and to cooperate with Dongfeng missiles of various ranges, and the so-called monopoly of the United States really does not exist. This capability of the PLA's aerospace forces, combined with the striking methods of other services and arms, has brought about some unexpected results. For example, the so-called all-out war against China by the US military can only remain a plan. From Trump to Biden, no one has the guts to give it a try, allowing the U.S. military to compete with the People's Liberation Army on China's doorstep. The U.S. military is even considering whether it makes sense to deploy heavy military groups on the first island link. This is the effect of the formation of combat support capabilities of China's military aerospace forces. It is believed that with the passage of time, China will occupy a less and more active position in near space, space and deep space. It is impossible for the United States to regain the feeling of being in a monopoly position in the seventies and eighties of the last century.