ASIA TIMES

Asia Times quoted an APLN policy brief titled “Chinese Fractional Orbital Bombardment.”

Western analysts are skeptical about claims that China tested a space plane-based FOBS in July or August 2021.

In a 2021 paper for the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), Bleddyn Bowen and Cameron Hunter mention that US space-based missile tracking satellites can detect missile launches and spacecraft burns from almost any point on or above Earth.

They write that the US possesses the world’s most sophisticated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capability, noting that China has little to no chance of pulling off a nuclear surprise attack on the US, even with a FOBS.

Bowen and Hunter say that FOBS requires dozens, if not hundreds, of launch vehicles to provide a genuinely unpredictable strike capability and survive anti-satellite weaponry. They also note that FOBS is rendered moot by the prospect of US nuclear retaliation in case of such an attack.

The original post can be accessed here.