{"id":183637,"date":"2025-12-14T03:55:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T03:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/183637\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T03:55:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T03:55:23","slug":"russian-invisible-satellite-and-chinese-stealth-tests-alarm-us-space-force-united24-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/183637\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian \u201cInvisible\u201d Satellite and Chinese Stealth Tests Alarm US\u00a0Space Force \u2014 UNITED24 Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

China and Russia are actively testing stealth-related technologies designed to\u00a0make their satellites harder to\u00a0detect with radar and optical sensors, a\u00a0senior US\u00a0Space Force official said, warning that space surveillance is\u00a0increasingly turning into a\u00a0game of\u00a0concealment rather than confrontation, according to\u00a0Breaking Defense on\u00a0December\u00a011.<\/p>\n

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Speaking at\u00a0the Space Force Association\u2019s Spacepower 2025\u00a0conference, Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lerch, the senior enlisted advisor to\u00a0the deputy chief of\u00a0space operations for intelligence, said<\/a> recent activity suggests both countries are investing in\u00a0ways to\u00a0reduce the radar and visual signatures of\u00a0spacecraft, particularly in\u00a0low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn\u00a0years past, we\u2019ve talked about this cat and mouse game that was happening at\u00a0GEO [geosynchronous Earth orbit]\u2014Chinese, Russian, US\u00a0satellite, sort of\u00a0stalking each other,\u201d Lerch said. \u201cThis past year has really been more of\u00a0a\u00a0hide-and-seek game that we\u2019ve seen at\u00a0LEO [low Earth orbit].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lasers,<\/p>\n

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CategoryWar in Ukraine<\/a>Lasers, Rogue Satellites, And Brain Drain. Inside Russia’s Space Warfare<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Apr 15, 2024 12:39\n <\/p>\n

China testing stealthy satellite shapes<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Breaking Defense, Lerch pointed to\u00a0China\u2019s Shiyan-24 satellite trio\u2014Shiyan A, B, and C\u2014which conducted synchronized maneuvers in\u00a0low Earth orbit earlier this year, activity previously described by\u00a0Space Force Vice\u00a0Gen. Michael Guetlein as\u00a0\u201cdogfighting in\u00a0space.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Lerch, each satellite exhibited a\u00a0different radar cross-section, with each successive spacecraft becoming harder to\u00a0detect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat suggests,\u201d he\u00a0said, \u201cthat the Chinese are moving forward with what we\u2019ve seen as\u00a0a\u00a0decades-long plan and research to\u00a0potentially use some stealth applications in\u00a0space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Russia<\/p>\n

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CategoryLatest news<\/a>Russia Targets German Satellites With Electronic Attacks as\u00a0Both Moscow and Beijing Close In\u00a0From Orbit<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Nov 19, 2025 13:35\n <\/p>\n

He\u00a0added that Chinese military researchers have been experimenting since at\u00a0least 2012\u00a0with shaping microsatellites to\u00a0reduce detectability. A\u00a02022\u00a0research paper published by\u00a0the People\u2019s Liberation Army described lab testing of\u00a0a\u00a0small metallic satellite known as\u00a0the \u201cOlive-B\u201d test article.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only are they difficult to\u00a0visually acquire, that shape, they believe, would be\u00a0incredibly beneficial in\u00a0terms of\u00a0masses of\u00a0the radar cross section,\u201d Lerch said.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80 Liftoff at ~07:00 UTC on January 13, a Long March 2D successfully launched Yaogan-37 and Shiyan-22 A\/B from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center https:\/\/t.co\/41mKmkRnc5<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ZLehi9HunA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 China ‘N Asia Spaceflight \ud83d\ude80\ud835\udd4f \ud83d\udef0\ufe0f (@CNSpaceflight) January 13, 2023<\/a>
\n Russia\u2019s low-visibility satellite in\u00a0higher orbit<\/p>\n

Russia, meanwhile, has recently launched an\u00a0experimental satellite with extremely low visibility into medium Earth orbit (MEO), Lerch said. The spacecraft, known as\u00a0Mozhayets, stands out for how dim it\u00a0appears when observed from Earth, Breaking Defense notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s fascinating about the Mozhayets is\u00a0that it\u00a0has a\u00a0very, very low visual magnitude,\u201d Lerch explained. \u201cJust to\u00a0give you some context, the Sun is\u00a0a\u00a0negative 26\u00a0visual magnitude\u2026 GPS satellites at\u00a0MEO, they\u2019ve got about a\u00a06.5 visual magnitude.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa Launch of Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome <\/p>\n

\u25ab\ufe0f On 13 September 2025, a combat crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces launched the Soyuz-2.1b medium-size carrier rocket with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Mozhayets-6\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/WTrAc7RBr1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 dana (@dana916) September 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

This Mozhayets satellite, the Russians put up\u00a0to\u00a0MEO, was at\u00a0about a\u00a016\u00a0for visual magnitude, very difficult to\u00a0see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mozhayets-6 satellite was built by\u00a0Russia\u2019s Mozhaisky Military Space Academy and launched on\u00a0September 13\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0rideshare payload aboard a\u00a0new GLONASS navigation satellite.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0commercial tracking firm Slingshot, which publicly disclosed the satellite on\u00a0November 17, Mozhayets-6 remained effectively \u201clost\u201d for roughly five weeks, at\u00a0least within publicly available Space Force tracking databases.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cSpace<\/p>\n

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CategoryLatest news<\/a>\u201cSpace Matryoshka\u201d: Russian Spacecraft Deploys Possible Anti-Satellite Weapon Near USA 326<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jul 01, 2025 14:18\n <\/p>\n

Commercial tracking firms fill critical gaps<\/p>\n

Lerch emphasized that commercial space-tracking companies are playing an\u00a0increasingly vital role in\u00a0monitoring these developments, noting that unclassified awareness of\u00a0stealthy satellites would be\u00a0nearly impossible without their data.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0his briefing slides, LeoLabs identified the Shiyan satellites\u2019 activity, while Slingshot detected the Russian Mozhayets satellite\u2014reportedly before the Space Force did, at\u00a0least publicly, Breaking Defense said.<\/p>\n

\"US\u00a0Launches<\/p>\n

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CategoryLatest news<\/a>US\u00a0Launches Secretive Space Interceptor Program to\u00a0Kill Nuclear Missiles at\u00a0Liftoff<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Nov 26, 2025 16:43\n <\/p>\n

Earlier, a\u00a0servicing cabin collapsed<\/a> at\u00a0the Baikonur Cosmodrome during the launch of\u00a0the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft to\u00a0the International Space Station (ISS). The collapse occurred at\u00a0the movable fold-out structure beneath the launch pad, where work is\u00a0done on\u00a0the rocket\u2019s tail section. The incident was reportedly caused by\u00a0the rocket\u2019s first-stage engine\u2019s gas jet, which tore through part of\u00a0the launch complex.<\/p>\n

This particular service cabin is\u00a0crucial for launching Russian crewed missions to\u00a0the ISS, and the incident could lead to\u00a0indefinite delays for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft launches. No\u00a0cosmonauts were injured, but the facility now requires repairs, which could take up\u00a0to\u00a0two years.<\/p>\n

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