Can Elon Musk’s Starship upend the strategic order? A Chinese think tank warns it might

A Chinese think tank, Anbound, has warned that Elon Musk's Starship program could disrupt the global strategic order and create a new space-based power dynamic. The concern stems from a US Air Force Research Laboratory contract with SpaceX to explore Starship's potential for rapid global mobility, which could allow for swift troop and equipment deployment. Anbound suggests that if Starship's suborbital flight capabilities become a reality, it could render existing air defenses obsolete and reduce reliance on traditional military infrastructure. The think tank argues that this development presents both a challenge and an opportunity for China, requiring them to compete for control over launch timing to maintain strategic parity with the US. They believe mastering the launch window will give a country the initiative.

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