rki.news | Source: Anadolu Agency
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 – Iran is emerging as a space power capable of challenging US military operations in the Middle East, despite American strikes on key Iranian space-related facilities, according to a Pentagon intelligence report.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said Iran took offensive action against US space capabilities during Operation Epic Fury, using land-based jamming systems to disrupt satellite-based GPS signals.
The report said Tehran is expanding its military and civilian space programmes to strengthen its military capabilities, support economic development and enhance national prestige.
Iran has around a dozen operational satellites, according to the American Enterprise Institute, while the United States operates more than 1,000 times as many.
Tehran has also reportedly received satellite support from China and Russia to improve its intelligence and targeting capabilities.
Despite US claims of achieving space superiority over Iran, some American defence experts have questioned this assessment.
“If Iran can degrade U.S. space capabilities, we don’t have superiority,” aerospace expert Todd Harrison told Axios.
The DIA also said Iran is working to improve the resistance of its guidance and navigation systems to electronic attacks.
US Intelligence Warns of Iran’s Growing Space Capabilities
