The new U.S. Intelligence that Washington shared with its allies and Congress indicates a dramatic potential for Russia to escalate its space-based weapons.
There are few details about the nature of the Russian threat in space. Michael Cantrell, PJ Media’s Michael Cantrell, covered House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chair Mike Turner’s cryptic statement about a “serious threat to national security” and requested that the White House declassify intelligence immediately.
White House sources say the threat isn’t “imminent” and are only talking about the background information. It’s still a major upgrade in Russian space capabilities. While the threat may not be immediate, there is a limited window of time to act.
This weapon could destroy any number of satellites for communications, civilian or military. Such a weapon would allow Russia to launch a first attack in the event of a war, blinding us until it was too late. In some military plans, a U.S. attack is called for if our satellite network becomes significantly disrupted.
The Intelligence Committee, in a letter to Congressmen, said that the new intelligence is about “destabilizing military capabilities abroad.” This led to a call to declassify certain intelligence for Congressmen.
Currently, the U.S. has no counter-anti-satellite system to the weapon, leaving our communications networks vulnerable.
Some Capitol Hill observers question Chairman Turner’s motives for requesting the intelligence release. Turner’s announcement is seen by some members against aid to Ukraine as a way to convince the House to pass the aid package.
Nuclear weapons in space have been a concern for 50 years. It was a subtheme in “Star Trek” episodes from the late 1960s just as the Treaty came into force. The United States tested versions of this technology, but they were never deployed. Russia has been developing space-based capabilities for decades.
U.S. officials have warned that Russia and China are both moving towards greater militarization in space as they all work to blind each other.
In a report published last year, Russia was noted for its development of weapons that could blind other satellites. However, it did not use the full range of antisatellite capability.
Turner is said to be angry at the White House for leaking information. Would we have known about it if Turner hadn’t leaked the information? If the U.S. informed allies and Congress members about the weapon, then Russia must be close to using it. I doubt that Biden would have released the information before the election.
