Secretive $120 million weapon built for US Space Force that JAMS Russian and Chinese satellites is finally set for delivery as flaws are fixed following a two-year delay

A mysterious US weapon that blocks Chinese and Russian satellites is finally ready for delivery.

With the help of an explosion of radio signals, the new weapon of the US Space Force worth $ 120 million shouts so loudly that it drowns out all other messages.

Originally planned for delivery in 2022, the weapon was chased by a series of non-specific technical errors that led to more than two years of delays.

Space Force now says that the system has passed ‘all verification tests at system level’ and is on schedule for delivery at the beginning of 2025.

Meadowlands was designed by a Florida company called L3Harris Technologies Inc. and is a lighter, more mobile version of America’s first offensive electronic weapons.

The Meadowlands system is essentially a huge radio channel on wheels that can produce an extremely powerful explosion of radio sound that can drown out messages from a foreign satellite.

These could possibly be Russian or Chinese surveillance messages, such as the position of the US military.

Maj. Neal Carter, deputy director of intelligence for Space Force Space Systems Command, explained in a blog post last month: ‘I have two children, and they can be very loud.

“If I’m in the kitchen doing the dishes, and my wife is in the living room and she’s trying to tell me something from across the room, but the kids are talking so loudly that I just can’t hear her – that’s jamming. ‘

Major Neal explains that satellite jams work according to exactly the same principle and essentially ‘scream’ so loudly that the ground recipients cannot hear the intended signal.

The Meadowlands system was commissioned to replace the older ‘Counter Communications System’ that became operational in 2020.

The new ground weapon is built to be lighter and more mobile, so it can be deployed more quickly.

America’s secret new weapon, built to block Russian and Chinese satellites (photo), is finally ready for delivery, more than two years behind on schedule

Meadowlands can also be updated with new software and can block a wider range of frequencies.

A $124 million (£95.5 million) contract was signed with the expectation that the systems would be operational by 2022.

Due to non-specific technical problems, however, it took two years longer than expected to deliver the satellite fault weapons.

In conversation with Bloomberg:

While the company admitted that “verification testing took longer than expected,” they say that “L3Harris has now completed verification testing and the program is on track for delivery early next year.”

The first five of the 32 planned weapons will be given to Space Force for further testing in January next year.

If the tests are successful, the weapons will be declared operational in March and be transferred to the electronic war unit of the Space Force, Space Delta 3.

Although America has kept much of its space warfare capabilities secret, the arrival of Meadowlands signals a growing focus on offensive electronic capabilities.

Het ‘Meadowlands’-systeem maakt gebruik van een krachtige straal op een radiosignaal om vijandelijke communicatie te overstemmen, waardoor satellieten worden uitgeschakeld tijdens het begin van een conflict. It offers a rare insight into America’s growing arsenal of space weapons designed to counter Russia and China

Observation and communications satellites now play a huge role in shaping global conflicts.

In the war in Ukraine, both sides use satellites to guide GPS missiles to their targets, coordinate troop movements on the ground and spot enemy formations as they approach.

However, the growing importance of satellites has also led to a much greater use of satellite jamming weapons.

Space Delta 3 has been using jamming weapons since 2004, but since the outbreak of war there has been increasing emphasis on electronic warfare.

Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, the Space Force’s deputy chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, told an Air Force Association symposium last year that America is dealing with an “armada” of satellites.

It is believed that China operates 300 different remote sensing satellites with a wide range of different capabilities.

Although Russia is less advanced than China, it has also made effective use of satellite observation during nearly three years of warfare.

General Gagnon said, “Their armada of satellites in space can track us, can sense us, can see us, can connect that data to their fire network and can now endanger the American military in ways that we have never understood or need to understand.” to do. face to date.’