Overview
- The Space Force operationally accepted the Meadowlands Counter Communications System on June 8 and assigned it to Guardians in Combat Forces Command’s Mission Delta 3 for presentation to combatant commands.
- Meadowlands is a trailer-mounted antenna built by L3Harris that uses directed electromagnetic beams to target satellites’ uplink and downlink signals and create temporary “silence zones.”
- The service describes the system’s effects as non‑kinetic and reversible, meaning it can deny or disrupt satellite communications without physically damaging satellites or generating debris.
- Reporting indicates the Space Force has sought roughly $460 million in its FY2027 budget request for further Meadowlands development and training to integrate the capability into joint operations.
- The system is the latest evolution of the Counter Communications System family and offers a non‑kinetic alternative to anti‑satellite strikes, a shift that raises policy questions about escalation, targeting rules, export controls, and norms for conduct in space after prior uses in operations such as Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025.