The US has begun sharing top-secret data on Russian and Chinese space operations with allies
The United States has begun sharing some of its most sensitive intelligence on Chinese and Russian space operations with the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand (the Five Eyes alliance), the commander of the US Space Force's Space Delta 9 unit, Colonel Ramsey Horn, said, according to the British newspaper The Times.
Until this month, information about the activities of Space Delta 9, the unit responsible for conducting warfare in orbit, was largely considered reserved only for Americans with top-secret security clearance.
But now the US military has taken an "unprecedented step" by allowing British counterparts to observe their work at the US Space Force's Shriver base in Colorado, in light of growing concerns about China's militarization of space.
In recent weeks, British Air Marshal Johnny Stringer, deputy commander of NATO's Joint Air Command, has been briefed on a US intelligence program that tracks other satellites.
Stringer was shown American tactical intelligence operations, including how Washington uses systems to approach Russian and Chinese satellites, using a high-precision camera that takes pictures of the orbiters and assesses whether they are conducting activities that should concern the United States.
As Horn noted, there are concerns that some satellites have a dual purpose: "Is that really satellite communications satellite as advertised or is there something else onboard we need to be concerned about?"
The US is concerned that Beijing and Moscow are rapidly developing their space capabilities, with China investing heavily in intelligence gathering.
If America goes to war with China (in the event of Beijing invading Taiwan), the PRC will be able to use its space assets to monitor the movement of US troops. At a briefing at the US embassy in London, Horn said that his country is capable of defeating its enemies in space, which is an obvious warning about Beijing's possible ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States is also seeking to develop weapons in space that would protect Western satellites if they are attacked.
According to Horn, a decision was made in recent weeks to work more closely with Five Eyes allies, giving them access to the highest levels of American intelligence on growing dangerous activity in space.
Allies can help the United States with any of its vulnerabilities in space, and Washington will provide Britain with the expertise that America has accumulated in this area over the past decade.
The intelligence has been shared in recent weeks in an effort to strengthen ties with allies in the hope they can help each other confront threats in space. A Delta 9 spokesman said the move was "momentous."
America also hopes that British officers will be able to participate in the Delta 9 mission for the first time as part of further deepening ties between the countries.
The unit commander noted that in the worst case, Delta 9 would be able to repel an enemy attack in space: "We are more ready than we have ever been to execute combat operations if we have an adversary that chooses to challenge that peace."
He added that in 2024, Beijing launched no less than 66 satellites, more than in all previous years.
Horn said the US is keen to prevent the launch of a Chinese strike network. This involves China using space assets to track US forces around the world. This would give Beijing a target if it wanted to deploy hypersonic missiles in the event of war. Britain and the US are working together to better identify and track such weapons.
The Five Eyes member countries already have a deep intelligence-sharing partnership, although there is information that allies are only willing to share with their own governments because it is considered too sensitive, The Times concludes.
- In February 2024, then-Chairman of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Turner, declared a threat to US national security and called on Biden to declassify all information regarding this. Over time, it became known that this was about Russian plans to place nuclear weapons in space.
- Subsequently, then-US Secretary of State Blinken informed the foreign ministers of India and China that Moscow was likely planning to place nuclear weapons in space and asked them to influence it.
- In April 2025, NATO's Secretary General reported that the Alliance was concerned that Russia would soon be able to place nuclear weapons in space for use against satellites.