SILENTBARKER ‘watchdog’ to be ‘exponential’ leap in DoD monitoring of Chinese, Russian sats
As the Space Force prepares to launch highly classified space domain awareness satellites, China calls foul on purported close approaches to its sats by existing US birds.
The U.S. Defense Department is set to make an "exponential" advancement in its ability to monitor potentially threatening Russian and Chinese satellites with its next-generation space monitoring system, SILENTBARKER. Jointly developed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the Space Force, the classified project aims to operate in geosynchronous Earth orbit and significantly improve space domain awareness. While specific details remain scarce, senior officials expect the system to be fully operational by 2026, enhancing capabilities for all-weather, day-night monitoring of space objects. The announcement has elicited criticism from China, which accuses existing U.S. satellites of coming dangerously close to its own, further fueling ongoing international debates on the need for norms to prevent conflict in space.