Russia’s Space Weaponry Escalation Alarms Western Defense Experts
As Russia improves its nuclear spacecraft, it is likely preparing a low-profile system to threaten Western satellites. With the rise of sabotage against Ukraine's allies, the Kremlin may use its long experience of subversive activities to destabilize low Earth orbit.
The Gaze reports on this, referring to Forbes.
While Moscow is developing a secret project to place anti-satellite missiles with nuclear warheads in orbit, detonating such a bomb at an altitude of hundreds of kilometers would inevitably trigger a quick response from NATO, said Elena Grossfeld, an expert on Russian space arms and intelligence operations at King’s College London.
A less direct scenario could be an “accidental” explosion of a nuclear spacecraft, which would disable many satellites and give Moscow the opportunity to deny everything, she notes.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos has already launched a satellite into orbit near the edge of the high-radiation rings of the Van Allen belt.
It is believed that blowing up a nuclear-powered spacecraft in this orbital zone will increase radiation and destroy or damage neighboring satellites. The advantage of such an operation is that it will never be possible to completely prove.
Grossfeld suggests that Russia could destroy a nuclear-powered ship in order to disable thousands of American satellites. This would present the West with a dilemma, whether to regard such a move as an orbital version of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation, which has provided Ukrainian military units with vital internet connectivity, could become a prime target for Russian orbital sabotage.
She emphasized that Russia has already openly announced its intentions to arm itself for a possible First Space War, preparing to confront its Western allies in this new form of conflict. It is noted that since Moscow began shelling Ukraine, Russian Federation representatives at the UN have repeatedly threatened to shoot down SpaceX satellites.
As The Gaze previously reported, U.S. President Donald Trump has officially introduced the Golden Dome, a $175 billion space-based missile defense initiative aimed at protecting the United States from growing threats from China and Russia.