This is a CBS Island in the World.

Gordon Chang at Gordon G Chang joins me and we're very pleased to welcome

Rick Fisher, the International Assessment and Strategy Center, a senior fellow, writing

most recently about a subject that requires some attention to detail.

This is ASAC, anti-satellite weapons.

I need to ask the purpose of this, the big thinking before we get into where the U.S. is, where the Chinese are, where the Russians are.

Rick, a very good evening to you. What is anti-satellite technology looking to achieve?

What's the mission here?

John, anti-satellite systems or ASAT systems can be based on the ground or based in space and their purpose is to degrade or attack or even destroy the

satellites of your enemy so that they do not contribute to your ability to conduct military operations on Earth.

And this is satellites in orbit, low Earth orbit, satellites in geosinkris orbit, or is it routine now to attack satellites even without a war?

No, it is not routine.

However, for a decade, I believe the more 15 years the Chinese well well the Russians have been

developing a sat capabilities since the mid-1960s and the Chinese since the early 2000s.

They both have ground-based lasers and ground-based missiles that can either directly hit a satellite or launch a

co-orbital satellite that would sneak up on its target, possibly grab it, throw it out of orbit, or just destroy it.

But the Chinese and the Russians have invested heavily and while there has yet to be an anti-satellite battle in space,

the other side is very prepared to do just that.

You cite in a recent article a New York Times report reading,

The Pentagon is rushing to expand its capacity to wage war in space, convinced that rapid advances by

China and Russia in space operations pose a growing threat to the US. Is that

fresh Rick? Is the Biden administration reversing course or setting a new course?

...