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U.S. Deploys Satellite Jamming System
CNN has an article about a ground-based satellite jamming system that "uses electromagnetic radio frequency energy to knock out transmissions on a temporary and reversible basis, without frying components". Is this just another old school EM jamming technique, or something new? Of course they won't say, citing "operational security" concerns.
This whole control of space thing is approaching the thin line between annoyed and pissed.
While USAF claims this "ground-based jammer uses electromagnetic radio frequency energy to knock out transmissions on a temporary and reversible basis, without frying components", it will only take one mistake (and it's not that unusual) to fry someone's $500mil baby.
If other countries even dare to think about developing a similar jammer to "neutralize" US's satellite communication and its space-based capabilities, it's likely that US will simply launch another pre-emptive attack to destroy those jammers in these countries.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
When I see verbiage like "electromagnetic radio frequency energy" I immediately get suspicious. Someone's trying to bullshit me here.
What's to keep people from encrypting communications, and using commercial satellite systems? In fact, you could put up a satellite system and market it for commercial use. Then, when you use it to transmit your nefarious plans, the US won't want to take it down because it would be too large of a disruption to US businesses.
Jamming is a traditional tactic in electroninc warfare.
/.ers You guys play strategy and tactics games all the time...
The capability of locating an uplink based on signals received from a satellite is of much greater strategic value then destruction of the satellite. This is true for all engaged parties.
So why jam at all?
Suppose something like a cruise missle with partial guidance from a satellite is on it's way to your ship. Ideally you would want to co-opt the satellite and take some control. However, when the time comes, the last thing you want is the correct information to reach the missle. Here jamming makes sense. Without jamming capability a situation might arise in which the strategic value
to you, of your oppositions satellite, is greater than the value of your ship!
Come on
Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle!
After all there are quite a few countries around with the capability to launch satellites: Russia, China, various EU, India, I even seem to remember Brazil having a sat. These are all reasonable technical adept countries - who would get VERY pissed off, and even consider it an act of war, for the US to start zapping satellites (even reversibly).
And why would you attempt to zap a satellite? To hamper comms, to stop remote sensing, maybe because you don't like them overflying? What would be the reaction of the country concerned?
If you get the stage where you might think of using such a weapon, you've reached the stage where you never should - the temperature would go way up and there are a hundred and one ways of making the temperature go up to several million degrees without the use of satellite technology.
A relic of cold war thinking that would hurt those pulling the trigger more than those who owned the satellite. The world's too connected a place for it to be used against a country, and its worthless against asymetric threats.
It seems that this ground-based device is "temporary"... does this mean the the DOS is only active while the radio "beam" is activly engaged on the SAT. Would this mean that only geo-sync sats could be targeted 100% of the time, and others would be Off-line only when in the line of site...
"on a daily basis, by the hundreds and thousands in fact"
If that was the case then the country would have been depopulated by now (genocide).
Tens of people is more likely.
Can't blame them for being pissed at having an occupying army in their country. We call them "insurgents" to hide the fact that it is a popular fight against us by mainstream iraqis.
Then we should also ban CNN too, they ran the Bin Laden tape. Seriously, Al Jazeera is like an Arabic CNN. It's not like they were pro-Saddam or anything. Yeah, they mentioned the beheadings, they also had Iraqi politicians and Iraqi clerics on to condemn it. Even Israel does interviews on Al Jazeera, think about that.
If fights are fair they are also infrequent. Of the three countries in the "Axis of Evil" we went into Iraq because Iran and N Korea would have been fairer fights. Don't get me wrong, if you are going to pick a dog to kick I'd pick the chihuahua over the pit bull too.