Why Space Is Becoming A Critical Domain Of Modern Warfare

China's Zhuque-2E Y6 carrier rocket carrying two satellites named Spacesail DTC 01 and China Mobile 02 prepares to launch into space on June 9, 2026. China and Russia have been bolstering anti-satellite space capabilities. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

VCG via Getty Images

As discussions of warfare today emphasize unmanned systems technology, drones are driving battles into a new frontier – or rather, a frontier perceived as new due to its relative obscurity in the public eye. Space is now arguably the most hotly contested arena of modern war. It is a domain that commands control of satellites, including global positioning satellite systems and other communications systems.

These satellites comprise weak spots for drones and other military communications technology. Attacking and denying a nation’s assets in space can cripple the effective use of weapons on the ground.

As nations everywhere compete to increase drone arsenals and build shields with counter-drone technology to protect their forces on earth, major world powers are battling to project power in space both to guard assets and threaten adversaries.

Competition in Space

Competition occurring in space is rapidly spilling over onto the ground. In June 2025, two oil tankers crashed near the Strait of Hormuz in an incident widely believed to have been caused by GPS interference.

A spike in GPS signal distortion, known as spoofing, has been increasing against European member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 2023. The speed and scale of these disruptions prompted the United Nations aviation agency’s assembly to rebuke Russia in October 2025 for satellite interference.

The Strait of Hormuz is currently a battleground for satellite system disruptions. Interference with GPS systems has spiraled to such a degree in the region that commercial vessels are becoming navigationally blinded and struggle to maneuver. Nations participating in the conflict with Iran have created an “electronic fog” to dispel drone attacks that is kneecapping civilian traffic, CNN reported in March.

Creating Illusions Through Spoofing

The tactic coming to the fore of electronic warfare is GPS spoofing. Unmanned systems, particularly in the air and on the sea, function as self-driven patrols to provide reconnaissance. An effective way to render drones – or other types of military assets –useless without attacking directly is to disrupt their ability to communicate or feed them false information.

This is the essence of GPS spoofing, in which an attacker floods a GPS receiver with deceptive signals. A January 2026 report by the British Royal Institute of Navigation explains that attackers–including state and non-state actors–exploit signal transmissions from space as a vulnerability for global navigation satellite systems signals. They target signals from space en route to receivers on the ground. Disruptions force the receivers to actively search for lost satellite connections and pick up false information.

In addition to spoofing, attackers use jamming methods to halt signals completely and are also utilizing a technique known as “meaconing” to feed GPS tracking systems with echoes of past movements. This makes the systems “see” real information at the wrong times and locations. Common illusions at sea include ships appearing as spinning in circles or sailing on land, posing dangers to commercial maritime vessels trying to navigate.

Spoofing techniques against satellite transmissions are often carried out by ground-based assets, as has been seen in Ukraine since 2023. The recent RIN report points out that there is evidence that space-based assets are now also being actively used to carry out these activities.

A New Space Race

As it becomes increasingly vital for nations to maintain control of space-based navigation and communications systems, many are fortifying their satellites and exploring space-based targeting systems that could potentially disrupt or destroy opponents’ satellites.

The U.S. Space Force last year released a 20-minute documentary describing current threats to U.S. space infrastructure, which include orbiting satellite killers and satellites with robotic arms designed to drag U.S. satellites out of orbit.

"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," according to an April report by the Secure World Foundation on space weapons.

The report notes that North Korea recently adopted new policies for the military use of space and that Russia and China have been actively experimenting with an array of different anti-satellite systems with capabilities that could be deployed against U.S. and NATO systems.

Overcoming Denied Signals And Electronic Illusions

As NATO nations continue to experience GPS interference and drone intrusions, Germany is moving to enhance its defensive capabilities in space. The German federal government outlined a new space strategy in 2025 to increase Germany’s potential to monitor and deter potentially malicious activity occurring in space. The German government published a report noting that Russia and China support North Korea and Iran in creating military space programs.

While drones have introduced groundbreaking changes to how wars are fought on earth, the ability to wield them alongside other weapons largely depends on reach from space. This is driving state and non-state actors to apply age-old principles of war to GPS systems to confuse and deceive opponents.

The ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote in his famed treatise, The Art of War, that, “All warfare is based on deception…When able to attack, we must seem unable. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away.” The outcome of future conflicts will likely be determined not on who possesses the most sophisticated drone systems but on who is able to operate in GPS-denied environments and perceive reality in an environment flooded by electronic illusions.