The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 16th, 2025: China Develops Space-Based 'Kill Web' To Defeat The U.S. & Israel's Secret Talks With Syria's Islamist Regime
Fri, 16 May 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, America’s space chief is sounding the alarm on Russian and Chinese advances in space-based warfare, including Beijing’s “kill web” satellite network, Moscow’s intention to put a nuclear weapon into orbit, and their joint project to build a permanent moon base by mid-2030. We’ll have the details. Later in the show—in a surprising development, we are learning that Israel is engaged in secret talks with the new Islamist regime in Syria. The discussions are reportedly aimed at reducing tensions between the longtime adversaries, and at potentially having Damascus join the Abraham Accords, which would further erode Iran’s strategic interests in the Middle East. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you text PDB to 64000. Message and data rates apply TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are China's advancements in space-based warfare?
It's Friday, the 16th of May. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Up first on today's bulletin, America's Space Chief, which honestly might be the coolest job title,
has issued a grave warning about Russian and Chinese advances in space-based warfare, including Beijing's KillWeb satellite network, Moscow's intention to put a nuclear weapon into orbit, and their joint project, between China and Russia, to build a permanent moon base by mid-2030. We'll have the details.
Later in the show, in a surprising development, we're learning that Israel is engaged in secret talks with the new Islamist regime in Syria on the possibility of joining the Abraham Accords in a potential bid to further erode Iran's strategic interests in the Middle East. Now, that would be in the top 10 geopolitical developments of 2025. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
We'll begin today with a look at the final frontier of warfare as the US, Russia, and China vie for military supremacy in space. America's space chief sounded the alarm on Thursday on the emerging threat posed by Russia and China in the vast beyond, warning that what's referred to as Beijing's satellite kill web poses the biggest risk to US forces.
Speaking at Politico's Security Summit on Thursday, General B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said it's imperative for America to move swiftly to disrupt the efforts of America's top adversaries to weaponize space before they gain an edge over U.S. capabilities.
China's growing satellite network is of particular concern to Saltzman, who said it can precisely target the location of US forces, preemptively giving, of course, the communist regime valuable intelligence about American troop positions and operations before military objectives can be met. This network reportedly puts forces in the Indo-Pacific region at the greatest risk.
Saltzman said, quote, the PRC has developed what we've kind of, you know, tongue in cheek called a kill web. Doesn't sound tongue in cheek. And it's nothing more than a series of hundreds of satellites that are a sensor network that provide real time updates targeting quality information of our force. He continued, quote, this is a huge problem.
That's why we have to build our capabilities to try to disrupt that so that when we're trying to achieve military objectives, our soldiers, sailors, and airmen are safe and not under this umbrella of a very accurate, very long-range set of weapons. But it's not just China.
America's space chief warned that Russia is demonstrating similar strength in this arena, pinpointing three major areas of concern in Moscow's space technology development. First, he points to what he described as their kinetic kill capability.
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Chapter 2: What warning did America's space chief give about Russia?
Chapter 3: What secret talks is Israel having with Syria?
We'll begin today with a look at the final frontier of warfare as the US, Russia, and China vie for military supremacy in space. America's space chief sounded the alarm on Thursday on the emerging threat posed by Russia and China in the vast beyond, warning that what's referred to as Beijing's satellite kill web poses the biggest risk to US forces.
Speaking at Politico's Security Summit on Thursday, General B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said it's imperative for America to move swiftly to disrupt the efforts of America's top adversaries to weaponize space before they gain an edge over U.S. capabilities.
China's growing satellite network is of particular concern to Saltzman, who said it can precisely target the location of US forces, preemptively giving, of course, the communist regime valuable intelligence about American troop positions and operations before military objectives can be met. This network reportedly puts forces in the Indo-Pacific region at the greatest risk.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of China's 'Kill Web' satellite network?
Saltzman said, quote, the PRC has developed what we've kind of, you know, tongue in cheek called a kill web. Doesn't sound tongue in cheek. And it's nothing more than a series of hundreds of satellites that are a sensor network that provide real time updates targeting quality information of our force. He continued, quote, this is a huge problem.
That's why we have to build our capabilities to try to disrupt that so that when we're trying to achieve military objectives, our soldiers, sailors, and airmen are safe and not under this umbrella of a very accurate, very long-range set of weapons. But it's not just China.
America's space chief warned that Russia is demonstrating similar strength in this arena, pinpointing three major areas of concern in Moscow's space technology development. First, he points to what he described as their kinetic kill capability.
Back in November 2021, Russia used a direct-descent anti-satellite missile to intentionally destroy a defunct Soviet intelligence satellite, creating a massive debris field in low-Earth orbit that posed risks to the International Space Station and other satellites.
Second, he noted that Russia launched a crippling cyberattack on American commercial satellite internet company Viasat just one hour before mounting their invasion of Ukraine, causing outages for several thousand Ukrainian customers and disrupting wind farms and internet services throughout Central Europe.
Finally, and most ominously, Saltzman warned of the Kremlin's intention to put a nuclear weapon into orbit. As you may recall, reports started circulating back in February of 2024 that the Putin regime was pursuing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon that could shut down everything from military communications to civilian phone-based services and apps. U.S.
intelligence officials said the weapon could trigger an electromagnetic pulse across low Earth orbit. that would disable dozens of critical satellites and have a catastrophic effect on any ground-based devices that rely on satellite connectivity.
While Moscow vociferously denied the reports as a Western fear tactic, intelligence suggests that the Kremlin is still serious about putting a nuke in space. Saltzman said, "...the Russians are demonstrating reckless behavior with regards to how they intend to contest the space domain that will have far-reaching impacts beyond any localized military effect."
But the threat extends beyond Earth's orbit. Saltzman noted that Russia has partnered with China to launch a joint lunar exploration project called the International Lunar Research Station. China intends to put astronauts on the moon before 2030 and build a joint nuclear power plant on the moon with Russia to support the station.
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Chapter 5: How is Russia planning to weaponize space?
According to Politico, the ambitious project aims to create a permanent moon base by mid-2030 to compete with America's Artemis moon mission. We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention China's breakthrough in advanced energy weapon technology just last November.
The South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese Communist Party had developed an advanced energy beam weapon, dubbed a real-life Death Star, capable of targeting and disrupting satellite systems.
Now, the weapon can reportedly be used to impair communications, navigation, and even missile guidance systems, adding a potent new dimension to China's arsenal and underscoring their strategic emphasis on space-based warfare. Luckily, though, their Death Star can be destroyed by simply firing a proton torpedo into its unsecured thermal exhaust port.
And that is easily the nerdiest thing that I've ever said out loud. With the battle over the final frontier heating up, Saltzman says the U.S. must rapidly work to secure its own strategic foothold in space or risk being overtaken by adversaries. All right, coming up next, Israel engages in secret talks with the new Islamist regime in Syria. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here.
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Chapter 6: What is the significance of the joint lunar project with Russia and China?
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Chapter 7: What is the advanced energy weapon technology developed by China?
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According to sources that spoke exclusively with the Times of Israel, Israeli officials have been holding secret security-related talks with Syria's new Islamist-led government in recent days aimed at reducing tensions between the longtime adversaries and on the possibility also of having Damascus join the Abraham Accords.
While these delicate discussions are still in the earliest of stages, such a move could see Syria normalize ties with Israel, which of course would deal a critical blow to Iran's strategic influence in the Middle East.
Both Israel and Syria are remaining tight-lipped about the developments, and reports conflict about who is mediating the talks, though sources indicate that both the UAE and Qatar are playing a role.
One source said a recent meeting was held in Azerbaijan, attended by the chief of the Israeli military's operations directorate, who spoke with unnamed Syrian government representatives alongside Turkish officials.
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