The possible deployment of nuclear weapons in space by Russia would threaten “our entire modern way of life” in the United States and Europe, senior US generals have warned.
“It’s a completely indiscriminate weapon,” Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said at the Aspen Security Forum, describing The possible use of such a weapon by Moscow is “an incredibly reckless decision.”
Although a White House official previously stated that such a weapon would not cause “physical destruction here on Earth,” experts warn it would still have catastrophic consequences.
“If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated in space, it would not just affect military targets,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
He said it would immediately affect “everything in line of sight in low Earth orbit,” meaning cell towers, the Internet, GPS, banking systems, power grids and emergency services could all be affected.
U.S. intelligence officials have been watching Moscow’s project for nearly a decade, according to Lt. Gen. Kruse.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, made the comments at the Aspen Security Forum.
“It would affect satellites in the United States, China, Russia, Europe, India and Japan,” said General Whiting. “So it puts the whole modern way of life at risk.”
Use of such a weapon by Russia would violate Russia’s obligations under the Outer Space Treaty.
“Humanity has had the expectation that we will not put a nuclear weapon or weapons of mass destruction in space,” he said. Washington Examiner “And now they’re doing that, potentially,” he reports.
U.S. intelligence officials have been monitoring Moscow’s project for nearly a decade, Kruse said, adding that they are now “getting close” to finishing their preparations.
China has also been developing weapons to attack US assets in space, with a huge increase in anti-satellite weapons, including the so-called “kill net” that could have huge repercussions on Earth.
This network of systems is designed to allow Chinese forces to locate and attack U.S. positions in the Indo-Pacific, Whiting said.
By doing so, they increase their military capabilities on Earth, making their forces “more precise” and “lethal.”
Moscow and Beijing are also cooperating more than ever, Kruse said, as they aim to increase and maintain their presence in space.
While the explosion of a nuclear bomb may conjure up images of mass casualty events such as those that have occurred historically, its potential use in space is likely designed to create an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
When a nuclear bomb explodes, whether on the ground or in space, an electromagnetic pulse is created. This burst of electromagnetic energy can disable or destroy electronic equipment, including satellites.
While Russia already has multiple space tools in its arsenal, nuclear weapons are believed to be one of its emerging threat capabilities.
The United States currently has no defenses against such a threat, and if satellite communications were destroyed, restoring them would require maneuvering the remaining satellites into place and launching new ones via rockets, which would take days or weeks.
While Russia already has multiple space tools in its arsenal, nuclear weapons are believed to be one of its emerging threat capabilities.
The decision to place a nuclear device in space would also go against the Outer Space Treaty, a 1967 agreement to which the then Soviet Union was a party. One of the treaty’s provisions is a ban on putting nuclear weapons into orbit.
Russia and China threatening the United States and its allies in space is nothing new.
In 2021, Russia demonstrated its ability to shoot down satellites with Earth-launched missiles, destroying one of its own decommissioned satellites.
And in 2020, Russia fired a projectile from a satellite into outer space, although Russian officials maintained the projectile was not a weapon.
China, India and the United States have also tested ASAT missiles on their own decommissioned satellites.