Space Becomes a Battlefield: SWF Report Tracks the Global Race in Counterspace Weapons

According to the latest edition of the Safe World Foundation (SWF) report released on 3rd April, many countries are investing in space-based counterforce technologies. The SWF report highlights a disturbing trend: national military strategies increasingly view space as a contested domain.

SWF Report: Star Wars are Ceasing to Be Science Fiction

Space is no longer the quiet domain of satellites and science – it is now a growing arena for military competition.

A new SWF report, Global Counterspace Capabilities Report 2025, reveals how several countries are developing the means to disable or destroy other people’s space systems.

The report’s authors are Ms. Victoria Samson, the SWF’s Chief Director, who has over 25 years of experience in military space and security issues, and Dr. Laetitia Cesari, a researcher and legal practitioner who focuses on the law and policy of outer space, focusing on security and safety aspects.

‘From a security perspective, an increasing number of countries are looking to use space to enhance their military capabilities and national security,’ the report says. ‘The growing use of, and reliance on, space for national security has also led more countries to look at developing their own counterspace capabilities that can be used to deceive, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy space systems.’

The report states, ‘The existence of counterspace capabilities is not new, but the circumstances surrounding them are. Today, there are increased incentives for development and potential use of offensive counterspace capabilities’.

World Powers Accelerate Development of Space Weapons

The report assesses publicly available information on space defence capabilities being developed by twelve countries.

The authors compile and assess publicly available information on the counterspace capabilities and classify threats into five categories: co-orbital, direct-ascent ASAT, electronic warfare, directed energy, and cyber.

The United States, Russia, China, and India continue to lead the development of anti-satellite (ASAT) and advanced jamming systems.

The analysts note that today’s most active threats are electronic and cyber in nature. Countries such as China, Russia, and Iran invest heavily in jamming and spoofing, which interfere with satellite signals or mislead navigation systems such as GPS.

One of the most serious concerns raised in the SWF report is that commercial satellites that provide internet, weather or navigation are becoming military targets. These technologies are already being used in actual conflict zones, including Ukraine and the Middle East, making them legitimate targets in the eyes of some adversaries.

A Call for Responsible Behaviour For Space Sustainability

SWF warns that public awareness remains limited. SWF analysts emphasise that ‘unfortunately, much of this debate has taken place out of sight of the public ’.

The full report is available on the Secure World Foundation website for space enthusiasts who want to learn the full details.