CCP successfully tests ‘phantom space strike’ device that can disrupt US missile defense systems

According to the South China Morning Post, the results of the successful simulated test were published on February 10 in the Chinese-language Journal of Electronics and Information Technology and the Chinese team wrote, "Generating phantom tracks in space is extremely difficult" and "We solved one of the major challenges … with a clever design."

A senior engineer in the People's Liberation Army Unit 63891, Zhao Yanli, led the team, which was based out of Henan, a province in central China.

During the computer simulation, China launched a ballistic missile against an enemy target. The enemy deployed their missile defense systems, a technology used by the United States and many NATO nations. The rocket deployed three separate spacecraft once it exited earth's atmosphere, and each craft emitted radio interference that generated dummy pulses aimed at the enemy's radar.

The philosophy of deploying dummy countermeasures to disrupt an enemy is common on both sea and sky but has never successfully worked in space. In the successful simulation, the enemy deployed an interceptor after the triad of crafts started sending radar interference, leaving the initial rocket viable to target.

The modeling revealed a positive proof-of-concept for the Chinese military and the "phantom space strike" device has been greenlit to the engineering phase.

The team wrote, "There are many technical details we do not discuss in this paper."

A space scientist based out of Beijing who was not affiliated with the project said, "This phantom space force is never likely to be put to use against a powerful opponent."

The scientist asked to remain anonymous and said the technology could accidentally trigger a nuclear war.