Chinese “commercial” spy satellites have been caught targeting U.S. military aerial assets on the island of Diego Garcia.
Not surprisingly, the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) spy satellites are at it again.
Back on April 24, 2025, I penned an article for The National Interest titled “Is China Waging a Proxy War on the United States Via the Houthis?” Therein, I discussed the strong evidence that PRC satellites—using the convenient cover of being “commercial” satellites to provide a veneer of plausible deniability—were providing imagery intelligence to the Houthis in order to assist that Yemeni-based terrorist group in targeting U.S. ships in the Red Sea.
How are the PRC “commercial” spy satellites going to top that performance? By targeting U.S. military aerial assets on the island of Diego Garcia, of course.
Surveilling from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean
This newest Chinese spy satellite story comes to us from Newsweek reporter John Feng, in an article republished on MSN on or about May 22, 2025, titled “Chinese satellites capture US bombers and jets at island air base.” To wit:
“A Chinese commercial satellite company has released an image of U.S. aircraft at the Diego Garcia air base, amid tensions between Washington and Tehran over nuclear negotiations … New satellite imagery has confirmed the U.S. deployment of F-15 fighter jets to Diego Garcia, in addition to an increase in the number of bombers at the Indian Ocean base. Diego Garcia—roughly 2,000 miles from Iran—would serve as the military launchpad in the event of a confrontation escalated by failed nuclear diplomacy … U.S. Air Force jets at the Diego Garcia base were recently captured in a satellite image by MizarVision’s Airspace service. The Chinese company bills itself as an AI-driven provider of geo-business intelligence. The image was highlighted by the open-intelligence GEOINT X account.”
Cheng goes on to quote the following statement from Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Commander Matthew Comer:
“We have multi-layered defense systems on Diego Garcia that ensure the security and protection of our personnel and equipment.”
The bombers in question are a mixture of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.
Given the Houthis’ status as an Iranian proxy and Iran’s alliance with China, it could be possible that Beijing would provide direct intelligence assistance to Tehran in addition to indirect support via the Islamic Republic’s clients in Yemen.
Diego Garcia’s Relationship with the U.S. Military
According to Sumit Ahlawat of The EurAsian Times, the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia was established in 1966. Since then, it has proved invaluable as a key logistics hub, supporting naval operations, air missions, and intelligence gathering. This was demonstrated during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan alike.
Additional Developments
Of course, it’s not just Beijing’s spy satellites that are big-time players in their intelligence-gathering game. China’s surface ships—in its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Coast Guard—are also getting a piece of that spying action. A prime example of this is provided in my May 18, 2025, article for The National Interest titled “Japan Intercepts Chinese Type 815A Spy Ships Near Its Coast.” In addition to the PLAN shenanigans indicated by the title of the piece, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) sent four of its cutters “one after the other” into the territorial waters of the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in a so-called “rights-protection patrol.” The CCG cutters lingered therein for about two hours until departing in the wake of broadcast radio warnings from the Japan Coast Guard.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: DVIDS
