A Chinese lab has claimed they could decimate American warships with 'space weapons' - low-flying satellites - after carrying out a mock hypersonic missile strike.

In a research paper published in the Chinese journal Shipboard Electronic Countermeasures in December, scientist Liu Shichang described a computer-simulated attack on the US fleet.

The team launched missiles at a US aircraft carrier from 750 miles away and used low-flying satellites to block the ship's radars, so it couldn't detect the missiles until they were just 30 miles away. 

Based on the study, they concluded that three satellites would be enough to attack an aircraft carrier group, while just 28 satellites would enable a 'global strike', according to the South

Morning Post. 

Liu wrote: 'Commanding height has always been a pivotal tactic in war since ancient times. 

The study concluded they could launch a global strike with 28 satellites

In May last year, Chinese researchers said they were able to down the USS Gerald R. Ford — thought to be unsinkable by conventional weapons 

'With the evolution of the concept of war and the advancement of technology, space has become a new commanding height fiercely contested by the world’s military powers.

'

Liu works at the secretive Science and Technology on Electronic Information Control Laboratory. 

According to the South China Morning Post, the lab works on electronic warfare equipment for the Chinese military, under the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

The exercise showed how the People's Liberation Army could use so-called space weapons to strike the American fleet. 

In the simulation, after the missiles were fired, the low-orbit electronic warfare satellites reflected radar signals back at the US warships so the missiles could not be detected amid background noise.

They concluded that the satellites had 'unique advantages' as they could operate beyond national boundaries.

They added that because they fly at low altitudes they 'suffer minimal power loss, require less sensitive receivers and transmitter power, and are more feasible for engineering.'

The team said that China is 'forging ahead with related research and applications' and added 'electronic warfare in outer space using low-orbit satellite constellations has become an important means of information warfare'.

China is 'forging ahead' with research into how the technology could be applied

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere

By disguising the approach of the missile, the satellites allow it to get close enough to 'perform terminal maneuvers for further penetration until they destroy the target'. 

It could help complete a famously difficult long range strike on an aircraft carrier group. The team did not say what exact type of platform or missile they used in their simulation.

The study claimed that the US and Russia are also looking to space weapons for this type of strike.

In May last year, , the USS Gerald Ford, in a similar simulation.

Beijing researchers said they were able to down the USS Gerald R. Ford — thought to be unsinkable by conventional weapons — using 24 hypersonic anti-ship missiles over the course of 20 battles.

At the time, analysts questioned why China would release the results of a war game simulation.

'Anyone who discusses publicly the outcome of a war game or a simulation has a political objective, especially if they frame the result as a win or a loss,' Drew Thompson, a former US senior defense official told the

.

'Effective war games are ones that test an assumption, a function, or variable to inform the sponsor of the game about the complex interaction of elements,' he explained.

'War games are not about winning or losing. They are about learning.'