More from the article...

... The chief of the US Space Force has warned that China is putting military capabilities into space at a "mind-boggling" pace, significantly increasing the risk of warfare in orbit.

"The number of different categories of space weapons that [China has] created and...the speed with which they're doing it is very threatening," said General Chance Saltzman, head of space operations at the US military's recently created force tasked with protecting American interests in space.

Saltzman spoke during a tour of Europe to raise awareness about the potential for conflict in space with powers including China and Russia and the need to cooperate with European allies to improve deterrence capabilities.

"One of the reasons you have a space force in the US now is in recognition of the last 20 years, [Russia and China] have developed and demonstrated the ability to conduct war fighting in space," he said. The Space Force was established in 2019 by then-president Donald Trump, who is vying for re-election next week.

The US military has long been using space-based assets for communications and missile targeting. For China, space has become an increasingly crucial domain in its quest to put one of the US military's traditional strengths at risk. ...