The U.S. Space Force has activated a new mobile electronic warfare system capable of disrupting enemy satellites, the service announced Thursday, adding another weapon to America’s growing arsenal of counterspace capabilities as China and Russia race to dominate the high ground above Earth.
The system is called Meadowlands. Space Force Combat Forces Command deployed it June 8, describing it as a significant upgrade to the Counter Communications System, or CCS, which has long been the first publicly acknowledged U.S. space weapon capable of disrupting satellite signals.
Meadowlands is trailer-towed, which means troops can move it to forward positions and support combatant commands across multiple theaters. The system can detect, deny, disrupt and degrade enemy satellites and other electronic forces, according to the Space Force announcement.
“This upgraded system enables us to more effectively and efficiently support the joint scheme of maneuver across the continuum of conflict,” said Space Force Lt. Col. Ryan Skilling, commander of the 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron.
The first operational unit is now under the control of Mission Delta 3, the group tasked with training and equipping electronic warfare specialists. Space Force is fielding three electronic satellite jammers total as it races to close the gap with adversaries that have invested heavily in anti-satellite weapons.
The timing of the announcement carries weight. During Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, the U.S. bombing campaign that struck Iran’s nuclear facilities, electronic warfare forces created what the Space Force called a “silence zone” around enemy communications networks. That blackout allowed American stealth bombers to fly their missions without detection. The Space Force statement did not confirm whether Meadowlands was used in that operation.
The system’s deployment also carries specific implications for the Pacific. For Indo-Pacific Command, Meadowlands will serve as part of Adm. Sam Paparo’s priority arsenal for countering Chinese command and control systems. Paparo recently submitted an independent assessment to Congress requesting $6.4 billion in the fiscal year 2027 budget for “near-term space control capabilities,” including $146 million earmarked specifically for Space Force electromagnetic warfare weapons.
China and Russia have developed arsenals of anti-satellite capabilities, including ground-based jammers, directed-energy weapons, and satellites capable of maneuvering to disable or destroy U.S. systems in orbit. The Space Force has described the competition as a defining challenge for American national security.
“The service has and will continue to invest in a full range of counterspace capabilities to deter conflict in space and to win decisively if called upon,” said Space Force Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations.
