CIA and American government lament proliferation of spy satellites. They’re not complaining for nothing. I’m sure they’re doing it to get more money for new corporate/military projects. Lo and behold here’s the pitch later in the article:
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, who has studied these issues, suggested the military develop ways to jam satellite transmissions and prevent ground stations from receiving the pictures.
“The more information an adversary has, the more vulnerable we are,” he said. “We have to think about jamming and other capabilities at the appropriate times.”
Both the United States and the former Soviet Union worked on weapons that would bring down spy satellites in the event of a major war. But interest in those technologies has waned.
James also said he worries that the United States is losing its edge in building the best satellites. New restrictions on exports of satellite components, while slowing the transfer of sophisticated technology, have also caused U.S. manufacturers to close, he said. These rules were enacted after an investigation into the Clinton administration’s decision to let two U.S. aerospace companies export satellites to be launched atop Chinese rockets.
So, look for more public funds squandered developing ‘jamming’ technology or other advanced satellite technologies. It should be of no surprise to anyone that one of Mac Thornberry’s largest campaign contributors is Lockheed-Martin. They have a plant in nearby Fort Worth. If the government and the military decide to throw some money around for satellites Lockheed-Martin will benefit big time. Lockheed-Martin has already benefitted directly from the ‘war against terror’. Not only has their stock increased by 50% since September 11, but they have also secured huge, lucrative government contracts since then which could be worth more than 200 billion dollars! That’s $200,000,000,000.00 and that’s only counting their contract for the ‘joint strike fighter’. This is corporate welfare at its best.
When I read the part about bringing satellites down I wondered why interest has waned in that strategy? Maybe the reason is that satellites are extremely vulnerable to attack and the US would be the biggest loser if it started attacking satellites. The US would be absolutely crippled without satellite communication. I’m also guessing that the tools for bringing down satellites would be fairly easy to develop ie. coherent energy weapons like lasers or directed emp weaponry. That could open up a whole new kettle of worms.