A Potential “Starlink Destroyer”: A Chinese Technological Breakthrough Paves the Way for Disabling Satellites

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2026-02-07
Chinese experts have reportedly succeeded in building the world’s first microwave weapon with a power output of 20 gigawatts, enabling it to disable satellites such as Starlink that operate in low Earth orbit.
According to the details, Chinese scientists have developed a compact, ultra-high-power energy generator, a breakthrough that opens the door to producing a new generation of high-energy microwave weapons. According to a report published by The Independent, this innovation could be used in the future to disrupt satellite swarms—most notably SpaceX’s Starlink constellation—due to these weapons’ ability to incapacitate electronic systems without creating large amounts of orbital debris.
Microwave weapons operate by storing electrical energy and then releasing it all at once in the form of a massive pulse, a principle similar to the operating mechanism of a Tesla coil. While previous models were extremely large—reaching weights of up to 10 tons—researchers at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology in China managed to reduce the size of the new device to just 4 meters in length and 5 tons in weight, making it suitable for deployment on trucks, aircraft, or even other satellites.
The scientists used a special liquid insulating material, which helped achieve higher energy storage density and reduce power loss. The device, known as TPG1000Cs, demonstrated stable operation for a continuous one-minute period, during which it emitted approximately 200,000 pulses. According to the Chinese study, the device is capable of generating electrical pulses with a power output of up to 20 gigawatts, far exceeding the estimated 1 gigawatt required to significantly disrupt or disable the operational mechanisms of Starlink satellites in their orbits.
These developments come amid a growing body of Chinese research emphasizing the need to develop effective means to counter the space dominance of commercial satellite networks owned by Elon Musk.