In addition to the pursuit of militarized anti-satellite capabilities by certain countries, Gen. Robert Kehler, head of Air Force Space Command, told defense reporters in Washington Tuesday that a number of simpler technologies from the Cold War are proliferating, including GPS jamming technology. He called the expansion of such technology “fairly wide,” with countries and even non-state actors able to buy rudimentary laser jammers capable of “dazzling” certain space sensors. There are a number of countries, Russia being one of the more prominent, he said, that produce jammers on the open market. Kehler added that the technology has progressed to the point where someone could conceivably construct the capability without a lot of technical competence. The Air Force is working hard to counter these capabilities, and the upcoming GPS III satellite will have more of a capability to combat these tools, he said.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.