China Has Created a Starlink Killer. How the PLA Plans to Cut Off Taiwan's Communications
Chinese engineers have made a breakthrough in orbital warfare technology. A group of researchers from the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology (NINT) in Xi’an has unveiled a compact microwave emitter capable of burning out satellite electronics directly from the ground.
The new device has been designated TPG1000Cs. According to the trade journal *High Power Laser and Particle Beams*, it is the world’s first truly compact system for high-power microwave (HPM) weapons.
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A wealth of technology in a compact package
To make the structure lightweight, the designers made extensive use of aluminum alloys.
As a result, the TPG1000Cs weighs 5 metric tons and is 4 meters long. These dimensions make it easy to mount the cannon on a truck, load it onto an airplane, or even send it into orbit. If the weapon is deployed in space, neutralizing enemy targets would take a matter of seconds.
The developers emphasize that the system delivers up to 3,000 high-energy pulses per session. This is several times more than any existing comparable device.
“During testing, the system processed more than 200,000 pulses without losing stability. This paves the way for the deployment of powerful microwave systems on a wide variety of platforms,” the scientists note in their report.
The secret to this performance lies in the design. Instead of a bulky straight pipe, the engineers used a double U-shaped structure that takes up half the space. Energy efficiency was further improved through the use of upgraded materials and the switch to a new insulating oil.
A Threat to Elon Musk’s Constellation
According to the data, a power output of just 1 GW is sufficient to jam the signal or completely disable a Starlink satellite.
The Chinese-developed TPG1000Cs is 20 times more powerful. By comparison, the Russian “Sinus-7” generator weighed twice as much—about 10 metric tons—and could “fire” for only one second, producing no more than a hundred pulses per discharge.
Beijing makes no secret of the fact that the main target of these developments is SpaceX’s satellite constellation. The PRC officially designates Elon Musk’s project as a threat to national security.
While SpaceX is lowering the orbits of its spacecraft to avoid collisions with space debris, the Chinese military is gaining an ideal target. In low Earth orbit, satellites are most vulnerable to ground-based microwave attacks, which will cost the Chinese government significantly less than conventional anti-satellite missiles.
Source — https://dzen.ru/a/aYn9kWwd009Tsg9G
