US authorities announced a secret "threat to national security". According to media reports, we are talking about Russia's alleged plans to place nuclear weapons in space.
The head of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Turner February 14 reported that the committee provided members of Congress with information about a serious threat to US national security. At the same time, officials say there is no immediate threat to the United States and its allies.
BBC talks about this.
“I ask President Biden to declassify all information about this threat so that Congress, the Administration and our allies can openly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat,” Turner said, without providing additional information.
After this, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked questions, but he refused to comment on the essence of the matter, expressing surprise that the information became public before the White House discussed it with congressmen and intelligence experts .
So, the American television companies CNN, ABC, the New York Times newspaper, as well as the Reuters agency, citing anonymous officials, reported that we are talking specifically about Russia's preparation for the deployment of anti-satellite nuclear weapons in space.
“Officials say the new intelligence is serious, but the new capabilities are still being developed and Russia has not yet deployed them. Accordingly, they pose no immediate threat to the United States, Ukraine or America's European allies,” the New York Times writes.
According to the newspaper's sources, this intelligence received a few days ago is secret. It is impossible to reveal them without compromising the source. That's why Mike Turner's statement, according to the New York Times, angered the White House. It threatens the loss of valuable sources of information about Russia – Kremlin Speaker Dmitry Peskov has already stated that he cannot comment on publications on preparations for the deployment of nuclear weapons.
“I can’t comment on this at all… But it’s obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money (to Ukraine), that’s obvious,” he told reporters. < /p>
On Thursday, February 15, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, confirmed that the threat to national security that US lawmakers had spoken of the day before was related to Russia's development of weapons against satellites in space.
US President Joe Biden has already ordered to establish contact with Moscow on this matter. The White House also clarified that for now they oppose the release of more detailed intelligence data about this threat from Russia.
How legal is this
Mankind has already managed to carry out several nuclear explosions in space in its short history of conquering the Universe. And they were even preparing for atomic tests on the Moon.
The Americans began to study the effect of nuclear explosions in the upper atmosphere. In August 1958, they carried out a series of detonations of nuclear charges in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere over Johnston Island near Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. space. The tests took place over the South Atlantic Ocean. The missiles were launched from a US warship. This project was called “Argus” (in ancient Greek mythology this was the name of the many-eyed giant – the guardian of the gods of Olympus).
The Soviet Union decided to catch up with the United States in this pursuit and in 1961 carried out a series of explosions of nuclear charges in outer space.
This “dangerous race” ended in 1963, when Washington and Moscow entered into an agreement banning nuclear tests in three environments: the atmosphere, space and water.
In 1967, the USA, Britain and the USSR, of which Russia later declared itself the legal successor, also promised each other not to place nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in space, having concluded a corresponding agreement. In subsequent years, more than 100 countries joined it.
In addition, in 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the non-placement of any weapons in space, and the Russian Foreign Ministry regularly reports on the conclusion of bilateral agreements on the non-placement of weapons in space with countries such as, for example, Uganda or Sierra Leone.
True, in 2023, Russian authorities publicly announced the withdrawal of their ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The reason was allegedly that this document, adopted in 1996, was never ratified by the United States.
What Russia is going to attack in space
American media sources suggest that satellites may be the target of Russian nuclear weapons in space. However, experts interviewed by the BBC have different opinions on whether it is even possible to carry out a nuclear explosion in such a way as to damage a significant number of satellites.
The head of the Russian Institute of Space Policy, Ivan Moiseev, believes that the effect of a nuclear charge explosion will be minimal.
Firstly, there will be no shock wave from the explosion in space, and the threat of debris scattering will not be so significant in area. The main effect is electromagnetic radiation, which can disable only some satellites.
“The impressive ability, namely electromagnetic radiation, quickly decreases the further from the epicenter of the explosion. That is, it can damage only two or three satellites, a maximum of ten, despite the fact that there are thousands of them in orbit,” the expert points out. < /p>
According to him, in order to “blind” the constellation of American Starlink satellites with an explosion, Russia needs to carry out “hundreds, or even more explosions.”
Ukrainian specialist, former employee of the State Space Agency Andrei Kolesnik, believes that everything depends on the power of the nuclear bomb.
He does not rule out the possibility that an explosion in low-Earth orbit could damage hundreds of satellites, and in geostationary orbit it could destroy telecommunications equipment, which, for example, provides communications on Earth.
“Why is this being done? To demonstrate to the world that they (the Russians) are ready to do anything to achieve their goal. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation is losing the competition in outer space today,” he explains to the BBC.
Former adviser to the head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Andrey Kolesnik is confident that Russia will turn into a “world pariah” if nuclear weapons are used in space.
Can this be done quietly
The means of placing nuclear weapons in space could be an ordinary spacecraft, for example a satellite, which will carry nuclear weapons as cargo, says Andrei Kolesnik.
This could be a device that would be controlled using electromagnetic radiation, laser radiation, or it could also be a direct explosive used in the warheads of strategic missiles.
The head of the Russian Space Policy Institute, Ivan Moiseev, agrees that a “nuclear satellite” can be disguised as an ordinary one. But it is almost impossible for foreign intelligence services to miss this.
“Russian satellites, of which there are not so many, are closely watched. When an “unusual” satellite appears – with an unusual orbit, launch site – the attention of all observers, all experts, all telescopes will be riveted to it,” – he says.
It is almost impossible to prepare such a launch in secrecy, says a Russian specialist. He admits that a possible explosion of Russian nuclear weapons in space would not have a significant effect on satellites.
What Russia is planning
“This is an increase in rates,” says Andrey Kolesnik.
At the same time, he notes that there is no data on Russian developments in placing nuclear weapons on satellites. There is no information about the work of research institutions in this direction.
If Moscow decides to take such a step, it will become an exile in the world space community, the scientist assures.
Analyst Ivan Moiseev also does not see any practical benefit in launching such weapons into space.
“Use it as blackmail? Then you have to look at the opposite consequences of this. This will be a violation of two fundamental cosmic treaties and, accordingly, a powerful diplomatic failure. And secondly, there is no gain in this, because Conventional missiles, which are now being manufactured, can also be used as threats,” notes the head of the Russian Institute of Space Policy.
Related topics:
More news
