The US has been twiddling its thumbs while the Chinese and the Russians develop anti-satellite capabilities as well as hypersonic missiles.

Over the past several weeks a hard truth has become undeniable: The United States of America is no longer the all-powerful superpower it has been since the end of the Cold War. Far from it. The strategic implications of this state of affairs are epic for both the US and its allies.

A nation's position in the global pecking order is based on two things – its capabilities and its credibility. America's capabilities have diminished relative to its superpower competitors in a stunning way. And so has its credibility.

For over a generation, US leaders eschewed "the weaponization of space." But as they congratulated themselves for their restraint, the Chinese and the Russians weaponized space.

On Nov. 16, Russia launched a surface-to-air missile into space that destroyed an antiquated Cosmos spy satellite located dangerously close to the International Space Station. The satellite exploded into 1,500 pieces, all of which were large enough to imperil the space station and the eight astronauts (including two Russians) on board. NASA responded with a nasty condemnation.

This brings us to China.

China's anti-satellite program is far vaster than Russia's. China has missiles capable of destroying satellites and it fields laser and jamming technologies capable of blocking satellite communications. Last month, China raised its anti-satellite capabilities up several notches with its launch of Shijian-21. Shijian-21 is a satellite with a robotic arm which the Chinese claim is geared towards cleaning "space junk."

US Air Force Gen. James Dickinson has a different, more plausible explanation for the arm's purpose. Speaking to Congress in April, Dickenson said, "Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites."

In other words, the "space junk" China was referring to is US satellites.

A successful assault on US satellites would paralyze the US and allied armed forces. Depending on how badly US satellites are crippled, an anti-satellite strike could also devastate the US economy and much of the global economy.

In an interview last weekend at a security forum in Halifax, Canada, deputy US Space Command Commander Gen. David Thompson discussed the US response to the aggressive actions China and Russia are taking against US satellites.

The fact that both Russia and China have the capacity to destroy and sabotage US satellite systems would be bad enough if it were the only aspect of the two powers' weaponization of space. But it isn't the only – or even biggest -- threat the US faces from its adversaries' weaponization of space. The threat of hypersonic missiles is far worse.

Last month, the Financial Times revealed that over the summer China launched a hypersonic missile that successfully circled the earth before accelerating to its designated target. The Americans were reportedly stunned by the Chinese launch. They had been operating under the belief that the Chinese were several years away from that sort of capability.

The Russians first deployed hypersonic missiles in 2018. Since then, they have developed and deployed ground, air, naval and space-based hypersonic missiles. Last week Hyten warned the Chinese system looks like "a first strike system," that is, it can form the basis of a Chinese surprise nuclear attack on the US.

Earlier this year the US and Israel finalized an agreement to jointly develop the Arrow 4 missile defense program. The program will be carried out by Israel Aircraft Industries and Lockheed-Martin. One of its goals is to develop and deploy a system to defend against hypersonic missiles. Since there are no Middle Eastern powers with hypersonic capabilities, the implications of the Arrow 4 program are clear. For the first time, the US is working with Israel to develop technologies that will primarily protect the US.

All of this would be far less disconcerting if the US were demonstrating any seriousness of intent either towards its allies or its enemies. But the opposite is the case.

Hyten was asked whether China's hypersonic missile test represented a new "Sputnik moment," like the panic that seized the Americans after the Soviet Union became the first nation in space with its 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite. That panic spurred massive investment in US technology development. Hyten's response was instructive.

Like Sputnik, Hyten said, "From a technology perspective, it's pretty impressive.

"But Sputnik created a sense of urgency in the United States. The [Chinese] test on July 27 did not create a sense of urgency. I think it probably should create a sense of urgency."

Together with its allies, the US is still the most powerful nation on earth. It can still defeat, or at a minimum, massively harm all of its enemies. But whether it is dealing with Iran or China, Russia or Afghanistan or beyond, America's strategic credibility is in tatters. Neither its allies nor its enemies take its commitments or its threats seriously. Consequently, as it lags behind its adversaries in space weapons, the US projects a weakness of intent that invites aggression against itself, against its interests and against its allies.

Image: Reuters