China’s space dogfighting: A new frontier in the battle for orbital dominance

By willowt // 2025-03-20

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The U.S. Space Force revealed that China is practicing "dogfighting" maneuvers with satellites in low Earth orbit, using coordinated movements to inspect, stalk and potentially disable other satellites, signaling a growing threat to U.S. space infrastructure.
U.S. adversaries, particularly China and Russia, are rapidly closing the capability gap in space warfare, with China demonstrating advanced satellite maneuvering and Russia showcasing aggressive satellite stalking techniques.
The Space Force, established in 2019, aims to ensure U.S. space superiority by developing capabilities to contest and control the space domain, employing both kinetic and non-kinetic means to counter adversary threats.
China's recent maneuvers, alongside its history of anti-satellite tests and counterspace capabilities, highlight a shift toward aggressive space warfare tactics, including jamming, spoofing and cyberattacks.
The U.S. must undergo cultural, operational and technological transformations to maintain dominance in space, as failure to adapt risks ceding critical strategic advantages to adversaries in this increasingly contested domain.

In a stark reminder of the escalating militarization of space, the U.S. Space Force has revealed that China is practicing “dogfighting” maneuvers with satellites in low Earth orbit. This alarming development underscores the growing threat posed by Beijing’s ambitions to dominate the final frontier — a domain critical to America’s national security and global leadership. Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein disclosed the details during the McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2025. “With our commercial assets, we have observed five different objects in space maneuvering in and out and around each other in synchronicity and in control,” Guetlein said. “That’s what we call dogfighting in space. They are practicing tactics, techniques and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another.” The maneuvers, observed in 2024, involved three Shiyan-24C experimental satellites and two Shijian-6 05A/B spacecraft, which are believed to have signals intelligence capabilities. These coordinated movements, known as rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), demonstrate China’s ability to inspect, stalk and potentially disable other satellites — a capability that could cripple U.S. military and civilian space infrastructure in a conflict.

A shrinking capability gap

Gen. Guetlein’s warning is not an isolated observation. It comes amid a broader trend of U.S. adversaries — primarily China and Russia — closing the technological gap in space warfare. “That capability gap used to be massive,” Guetlein noted. “We’ve got to change the way we look at space, or that capability gap may reverse and not be in our favor anymore.” This is not the first time China has flexed its space muscles. In 2007, Beijing conducted an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test, destroying one of its own weather satellites and creating a dangerous debris field in low Earth orbit. Since then, China has continued to develop a range of counterspace capabilities, including ground-based lasers, cyberattacks, and now, sophisticated satellite maneuvering. Russia, too, has demonstrated its willingness to weaponize space. In 2019, Moscow showcased a “nesting doll” capability, where one satellite released a smaller spacecraft that stalked a U.S. satellite. These actions highlight a troubling shift in the space domain, where once-benign operations are increasingly being replaced by aggressive, warfighting postures.

The Space Force’s imperative: Superiority in the stars

The revelations about China’s space dogfighting drills underscore the urgency of the U.S. Space Force’s mission. Established in 2019, the Space Force was created to ensure American dominance in space—a domain now contested by adversaries who seek to undermine U.S. military and economic power. “The purpose of the Space Force is to guarantee space superiority for the joint force—not space for space’s sake,” Guetlein emphasized. “Space operations guarantee that, just like all the other domains, we can fight as a joint force and we can depend on those capabilities.” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman echoed this sentiment at the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Conference earlier this month. “Space superiority is the reason that we exist as a service,” Saltzman declared. “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain—employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation, and even destruction, if necessary.”

A new era of space warfare

The term “dogfighting” evokes images of World War II-era aerial combat, but the reality of space warfare is far more complex. Satellite maneuvers are slow and deliberate, often taking hours or days to execute. However, the stakes are no less dire. Satellites are the backbone of modern military operations, enabling everything from GPS navigation to missile defense to battlefield communications. China’s recent maneuvers are a clear signal that it is preparing for a future conflict in which space plays a central role. “Unfortunately, our current adversaries are willing to go against international norms of behavior,” Guetlein warned. “The new norms of behavior in space, unfortunately, within the past three years: jamming, spoofing, dazzling … cyber hacks are happening all around us on a day-to-day basis.” To counter these threats, the Space Force must undergo a cultural and operational transformation. “We’ve got to change our culture. We’ve got to change our training. We’ve got to change our [tactics, techniques, and procedures], our [concept of operations]. We’ve got to change our kit going forward,” Guetlein said. “Because this is the most complex and challenging strategic environment that we have seen in a long time—if not ever.”

Why this matters

The militarization of space is not a distant threat—it is happening now. China’s satellite dogfighting drills are a stark reminder that the U.S. can no longer take its dominance in space for granted. As the Space Force works to close the capability gap, Congress must ensure the service has the resources and support it needs to maintain American superiority in this critical domain. The lessons of history are clear: nations that fail to adapt to new frontiers of warfare risk being left behind. In the 20th century, airpower revolutionized military strategy. In the 21st century, spacepower will do the same. The question is whether the United States will rise to the challenge—or cede the high ground to its adversaries. As Gen. Guetlein aptly put it, “We need a credible fighting force, and we need the capability to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression. That is the inflection point that you’re seeing today.” The battle for orbital dominance has begun, and America must be ready to fight—and win. Sources include: DefenseNews.com BreakingDefense.com AirandSpaceForces.com