<
https://theconversation.com/commercial-space-technology-is-shaping-the-iran-war-the-law-cant-keep-up-277940>
"When the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran
nearly two weeks ago, the first confirmation didn’t come from governments. It
came from commercial satellites.
Images from US companies Planet Labs and Vantor captured smoke billowing over
central Tehran and ships burning at the coastal city of Konarak – evidence of
strikes on naval bases, airfields and missile sites that global media confirmed
within hours.
But space-based technology was not just observing the conflict, it was also a
target. US officials said early strikes hit “Iran’s equivalent of Space
Command”, undermining Tehran’s ability to coordinate via satellite.
Iran has also used extensive “spoofing” to create false GPS signals to mislead
receivers about their true location.
Simultaneously, US Space Command and Cyber Command launched operations to jam,
hack and disrupt Iranian software systems, known as “non-kinetic” attacks in
the jargon of modern warfare.
Such operations are a kind of “silent sabotage”, disabling communications or
corrupting GPS signals without blowing anything up with conventional “kinetic”
attacks.
This combination of advanced battlefield tactics and the rapid
commercialisation of space technology, as well as the erosion of the old
rules-based order in general, means international law is now falling well
behind."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
