Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 2nd, 2026: Russia Helps Iran Target U.S. Warships & China Builds Space Pursuit Satellites

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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 2nd, 2026: Russia Helps Iran Target U.S. Warships & China Builds Space Pursuit Satellites · The President's Daily Brief

0:12
It's Wednesday,
0:12
the 2nd of September.
0:14
Welcome to the PDB
0:15
afternoon bulletin.
0:16
I'm Mike Baker,
0:17
your eyes and ears on the world stage.
0:20
Alright,
0:21
let's get briefed.
0:22
First up,
0:23
leaked documents reveal how Russia is repaying the Iranian regime
0:27
for the drones Russia uses against Ukraine.
0:30
They're helping Iran
0:32
master
0:33
technology designed to put the US Navy at greater risk.
0:36
Later in the show,
0:37
China develops satellites capable of targeting,
0:40
pursuing,
0:41
capturing,
0:42
and
0:42
even refueling spacecraft as
0:45
Washington prepares for the possibility of combat hundreds of miles above Earth.
0:49
Frankly,
0:50
Elvis has left the building when it comes to that old theoretical discussion about
0:54
the possible weaponization of space.
0:56
Space has been weaponized
0:58
for many years at this point.
1:00
But first,
1:01
today's afternoon spotlight.
1:03
A new investigation reveals Russia has been
1:05
secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles
1:09
capable of threatening American aircraft carriers and
1:11
other warships in the Middle East.
1:13
The program is called C-430L.
1:16
Well,
1:16
that's catchy,
1:17
and according to the Financial Times,
1:18
it began in 2023
1:21
and is ongoing.
1:22
The investigation is based on leaked Russian correspondence,
1:25
travel records,
1:26
and an analysis of military patents.
1:29
The bottom line is that Russian engineers
1:31
are reportedly helping Iran master the technology needed
1:34
to build these advanced cruise missiles,
1:37
and the program centers on something called a Ramjet engine.
1:41
Without getting too far into the engineering,
1:43
even though I am a bit of a rocket scientist,
1:45
a Ramjet uses the missile's forward movement to compress air entering the engine,
1:50
allowing the weapon to
1:51
sustain flight at several times the speed of sound,
1:55
and that creates a particularly dangerous combination.
1:58
A cruise missile can approach at low altitude,
2:00
reducing,
2:01
of course,
2:01
the distance at which radar can detect it.
2:04
Supersonic speed then gives the targeted ship much less time
2:08
to identify,
2:08
track,
2:09
and intercept the incoming missile.
2:11
While American warships possess sophisticated layered
2:14
defenses intended to defeat aerial threats,
2:17
the confined waters around the Persian Gulf and
2:19
the Strait of Hormuz make that defensive challenge
2:22
even more difficult.
2:24
The Russian company assisting Iran is also exceptionally well suited to the job.
2:28
The company NPO Mashinostroyina
2:31
helped develop the P-800 Onyx,
2:34
that's a Russian ramjet powered anti-ship missile.
2:37
Capable of traveling faster than Mach 2
2:39
and descending to approximately 10 to 15 m above the surface
2:44
during its final approach,
2:45
the company also helped establish the partnership responsible
2:49
for developing India's Brahmos supersonic cruise missile.
2:53
So Tehran is receiving help from some of the
2:55
most experienced anti-ship missile engineers in the world.
2:59
The US sanctioned the company back in 2014,
3:03
describing it as a leading Russian rocketry company
3:06
responsible for cruise missiles launched from ships,
3:08
submarines,
3:09
and ground positions,
3:10
along with work supporting Russia's strategic nuclear forces.
3:14
According to the Financial Times,
3:16
Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboron Export coordinated the project.
3:21
Russian arms officials and senior engineers
3:23
reportedly made repeated trips to Iran before a contract was formally
3:27
signed with the Iranian Defense Ministry back in November of 2023.
3:32
By 2025,
3:33
the company had received a large collection
3:35
of Iranian technical material,
3:37
including data from an actual
3:39
test flight.
3:40
That test appears to have exposed some serious problems.
3:44
The telemetry showing how the propulsion system was performing
3:47
ended less than one minute into the flight.
3:50
Russian engineers
3:51
subsequently sent Iran detailed questions about changes to the fuel system,
3:55
instability inside the combustion chamber,
3:57
the design of the air intake,
3:59
and the engine nozzle.
4:01
They also wanted to know
4:02
whether the Ramjet continued operating after the telemetry disappeared.
4:07
In other words,
4:08
Iran had built and tested an experimental system.
4:11
But needed Russian experts to determine what went wrong and how to fix it.
4:16
Then in April of 2025,
4:18
Rosa Baroniksport proposed sending a delegation
4:20
of approximately 24 Russian specialists to Iran
4:24
for additional technical consultations.
4:27
Correspondence from June of this year shows the two
4:29
sides were still discussing a further phase of the project
4:32
and additional Russian technical reports.
4:35
And reportedly Iran has been pursuing this capability for years.
4:39
In 2019,
4:40
an Iranian defense-linked company displayed what
4:42
it described as an indigenous ramjet engine
4:46
during a visit by then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
4:49
And in August of 2023,
4:52
Iranian media claimed Tehran had begun
4:54
testing a prototype supersonic cruise missile.
4:57
But mastering ramjet propulsion is extremely difficult,
5:00
and
5:01
The leaked correspondence suggests Iran's engineers had not
5:04
solved the most important technical problems alone,
5:07
and Russia
5:08
may not be the Iranian regime's only path toward this capability.
5:13
If you'll remember back in February of this year,
5:15
we reported that Iran was close to
5:17
purchasing Chinese CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missiles,
5:21
which have a reported range of approximately 290 kilometers.
5:26
Now there's been no confirmation that that Chinese deal was completed.
5:30
But together these programs reveal a potential two-track strategy.
5:34
Iran has sought a finished weapon from
5:36
China that could provide a more immediate capability
5:39
while using Russian engineers to develop the knowledge needed
5:42
to produce their own missiles over the long term.
5:46
Of course this relationship goes both ways.
5:48
Iran has supplied Russia with Shahad attack drones for the Ukraine conflict
5:53
and has helped Moscow establish the production lines
5:55
now manufacturing Russian versions of those weapons,
5:59
and those drones have become central
6:01
to Putin's nightly bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
6:04
Now Russia appears to be returning the favor
6:07
by helping Iran acquire
6:09
technology
6:09
that could eventually be used against American forces,
6:13
and Putin may have signaled that strategy some two years ago.
6:17
In 2024,
6:18
he threatened to respond to Western long-range weapons being provided to Ukraine
6:22
by supplying comparable weapons to countries
6:25
capable of striking sensitive Western targets.
6:28
C430L
6:29
was reportedly already underway
6:31
when he made that threat,
6:33
and on Tuesday as American and Iranian forces exchanged attacks,
6:37
Putin told Iranian President Massoud Bazeshkian that Russia was
6:40
quote trying to give you the help you need
6:42
in this difficult period
6:44
and was quote supplying you with the goods you need,
6:47
end quote.
6:49
Now Russia and Iran have not confirmed the C-430L project,
6:53
and there's still no evidence that the
6:55
Russian-assisted missile is ready for combat.
6:57
But of course that does not reduce
7:00
the significance of the weapons technology transfer.
7:03
Missile stockpiles can be depleted.
7:05
Launchers and factories,
7:07
of course,
7:07
can be destroyed,
7:08
but it's the engineering knowledge needed to build and improve weapons
7:13
that's much harder to eliminate.
7:15
Alright,
7:15
coming up next,
7:17
the US and China prepare for a new kind of conflict involving
7:20
hunter satellites,
7:22
orbital pursuit,
7:23
and space weapons
7:24
capable of crippling military operations on Earth.
7:27
I'll be right back.
7:29
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Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
9:36
A war in space may still sound like science fiction,
9:39
but a new Reuters investigation
9:42
shows that the US and China are already developing satellites capable of pursuing,
9:46
capturing,
9:47
and potentially disabling other spacecraft.
9:50
To understand just how serious this new space race has become,
9:54
we have to start with something that happened back in June of this year.
9:58
That's when a secretive unmanned Chinese space plane,
10:01
essentially a reusable spacecraft that
10:03
can maneuver in orbit,
10:05
released a small satellite hundreds of miles above Earth.
10:08
According to the US space tracking company Leo Labs,
10:11
that satellite then looped around another Chinese
10:13
satellite before returning toward the space plane.
10:16
Now we don't know exactly what Beijing was testing.
10:20
China hasn't explained the mission.
10:21
And says its space plane is an experimental craft
10:24
intended to support the peaceful use of space,
10:27
of course,
10:28
but according to Reuters,
10:29
the incident fits into something much bigger
10:31
as China is rapidly developing technology
10:34
that could allow its satellites to pursue,
10:36
maneuver around,
10:37
and potentially even capture other spacecraft.
10:41
US officials say Chinese satellites have engaged
10:42
in what they describe as orbital dogfighting,
10:45
with multiple spacecraft maneuvering in close proximity.
10:49
China has also demonstrated the ability to capture a defunct satellite
10:54
and move it into another orbit.
10:56
Last year,
10:56
according to a Space Force official,
10:58
Beijing likely attempted another major step
11:01
refueling a satellite while it's already in orbit.
11:04
And that's important because
11:06
satellites normally have to survive on whatever fuel they carry into space.
11:10
And Chinese researchers are pushing that concept even further.
11:14
Patent-related documents reviewed by Reuters describe
11:18
technology that could
11:18
autonomously calculate fuel efficient maneuvers
11:21
while pursuing another spacecraft,
11:24
along with concepts involving.
11:25
Multiple satellites working together
11:27
to capture targets with nets.
11:30
I'm not making this up.
11:32
Now,
11:32
some of these technologies could have peaceful uses,
11:35
but the same spacecraft capable of approaching
11:38
another satellite to inspect or refuel it
11:41
could potentially approach an American military satellite
11:43
to interfere with or disable it.
11:46
Physically capturing one is only part of the threat.
11:50
Western officials are also preparing for electronic jamming,
11:53
cyber attacks,
11:54
lasers,
11:55
anti-satellite missiles,
11:56
and
11:57
potentially armed spacecraft.
11:59
General Chance Saltzman,
12:00
the chief of the Space Force,
12:02
calls the threat from China quote substantial.
12:05
Of course,
12:05
the military depends on satellites for
12:08
communications,
12:09
intelligence,
12:10
navigation,
12:11
precision targeting,
12:12
and missile warnings.
12:13
Take those satellites away.
12:15
And much of America's military advantage down
12:17
here on Earth could be severely crippled.
12:20
That's why General Stephen Whitting,
12:22
the head of US Space Command,
12:24
says Washington can no longer focus exclusively
12:27
on defending American satellites.
12:29
He argues that the US must also be prepared
12:32
to threaten or strike hostile spacecraft if necessary,
12:35
and to that end,
12:36
we're beginning to see the US practice
12:38
military operations in orbit alongside its allies.
12:42
Last September,
12:42
American space forces operating from Colorado
12:45
maneuvered a US military satellite close to a British satellite.
12:50
As China's 12-01 experimental satellite
12:53
passed roughly 50 miles beneath them,
12:56
that was the first known joint U.S.British military operation in space,
13:00
and three experts with military
13:02
backgrounds told Reuters
13:03
the maneuver appeared to be a deliberate message to Beijing.
13:08
China meanwhile says it opposes the weaponization of space,
13:11
of course they do,
13:12
and accuses Washington of fueling an arms race through programs including
13:16
President Trump's Golden Dome.
13:18
Despite their predictable claims that they're simply interested
13:21
in peace and the peaceful use of space,
13:24
China's military is heavily engaged in weaponizing the final frontier.
13:28
In 2022,
13:29
the PLA's official newspaper
13:31
wrote that controlling space was essential
13:34
to safeguarding China's national security,
13:36
seizing the strategic initiative,
13:38
and achieving victory in war.
13:40
And China isn't the only American adversary preparing for that possibility.
13:44
Russia also operates maneuverable satellites
13:48
capable of approaching other spacecraft,
13:50
and
13:50
Western officials say both Beijing and Moscow have demonstrated technologies
13:55
that could potentially threaten US and allied satellites.
13:59
The US has also accused Russia of developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon
14:04
that could carry a nuclear device,
14:06
although
14:07
Moscow denies it.
14:09
So
14:09
this is no longer simply a competition over
14:11
who can place more satellites into orbit,
14:14
nor is it some academic conversation about how to avoid weaponizing space.
14:19
The reality is
14:20
space has been weaponized,
14:22
and any future major conflict
14:25
will very likely take place in part
14:27
among the stars.
14:29
And
14:30
on that cheery note,
14:31
that my friends is the PDB afternoon bulletin
14:34
for Wednesday,
14:35
the 2nd of September.
14:36
Now,
14:36
if you have any questions or comments,
14:37
please reach out to me at PDB@tv.com.
14:41
And of course to listen to the show ad-free,
14:43
you know how to do that.
14:44
Just become a premium member
14:45
of the President's Daily Brief by visiting
14:48
PDBpremium.com.
14:50
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
14:52
Until then,
14:53
stay informed,
14:54
stay safe,
14:55
stay cool.
15:11
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