Space weapons Military space

2024: Russia and China surpass US in space armament

On a global scale, the space arms race has intensified, and more than ten countries are developing technologies in the relevant area. At the same time, Russia and China in some areas surpass the United States, as stated in the report of the American Secure World Foundation (SWF), published on April 2, 2024.

The report, based on publicly available information, looks at anti-space warfare technologies - essentially space weapons. It is said that Russia and China have achieved significant success in developing electronic countermeasures that can destroy or disable enemy satellites. These are, in particular, electronic suppression systems and directional weapons using lasers or microwaves.

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Фото: SWF

In addition, the Russian Federation and the PRC have increased their potential in the field of space control thanks to improved inspector satellites capable of maneuvering near orbital spacecraft for careful monitoring or attacks. In the ranking of countries developing space weapons, Russia leads in the field of satellites in coplanar orbit, and China - in the orbit of direct launch.

The report says that Russia has significantly increased its capabilities in the field of space security in a decade (by the end of 2023). At the same time, the PRC program is due to the desire to resist US superiority and increase its own influence. Beijing is developing technologies to neutralize US space systems in the event of possible conflicts. At the same time, as the authors of the report note, it is not clear whether China is going to use the capabilities of its spacecraft as offensive means or use them only to deter the enemy.^[1]

2023: US Space Force creates units to destroy targets in space

On August 11, 2023, the US Space Force announced the formation of its first unit designed to collect intelligence on satellites, ground space infrastructure and defeat enemy space targets. Read more here.

2021: Russia began to build a troop control aircraft in case of nuclear war

At the end of July 2021, it became known that Russia began to build a control aircraft in case of a nuclear war. There are two air command posts in production based on the wide-body long-range liner Il-96-400M. Read more here.

2020

US allocated $130 million to create satellites to track hypersonic weapons

In December 2020, the US Congress, within the framework of the adopted defense budget, allocated $130 million to create a constellation of satellites to track hypersonic weapons. These funds will be received by the Anti-Missile Defense Agency. Read more here.

The head of the General Staff named factors that increase the risk of a nuclear strike

The spread of military confrontation to cyberspace (Cyber ​ ​ Wars) and space increases the risks of interference in control systems and the use of nuclear weapons, said in December 2020, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov at a briefing for foreign attaches.

"Military confrontation extends to cyberspace and space, as a result, the risks of incidents increase due to interference in the functioning of control systems and ensuring the use of nuclear weapons," Gerasimov said.

He stressed that in these conditions, nuclear deterrence remains a key element in ensuring the military security of the Russian Federation.

US announces new anti-satellite missile test in Russia

The United States said that Russia conducted a new test of an anti-satellite missile. This was^[2] on December 16, according to the US Space Command of the^[3] Air Force^[4].

"Russia has tested an anti-satellite missile. Russia continues to militarize space. The US Space Command is ready to protect the States and allies from aggression from space, "the department said on Twitter^[5].

Previously Washington stated that Moscow he tested the anti-satellite missile of direct interception in mid-April 2020. Then it was noted that the States are monitoring the tests of missiles that allegedly pose a threat to American space systems. The US military also added that they are ready to "deter aggression and defend the nation" from hostile actions in space^[6]

The head of the US National Intelligence claims that the Russian Federation poses a threat to American space systems

The security and economy of the United States now depend immensely on the operation of space systems, and the country faces challenges in this area from Russia and China. This position was outlined in December 2020 at a meeting of the National Space Council by US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. The broadcast from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (Florida) was carried out on the website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

"The actions of our adversaries pose increasingly serious problems for us," Ratcliffe argued. "Vital American interests are under increasing threat as China and Russia develop and deploy weapons systems that could threaten the US and allied countries in space."

"China poses the greatest threat to US national security in terms of operations in space as China develops means to destroy our satellites," he said. "China is also building a ground-based system that targets our satellites in low orbits," Ratcliffe continued. "Russia has a similar system. In addition, Russia has a ground-based laser designed to blind or damage our optical systems in space. "

In addition, Ratcliffe blamed Moscow for "provocative actions," claiming that "the Russian satellite made dangerous maneuvers next to the American government satellite." "We see this as threatening behavior, given that the Russians previously launched a similar satellite that demonstrated the characteristics of a combat system when it fired a high-speed projectile," he added.

Touching on the dependence of the United States on orbital systems, Ratcliffe stressed that in the coming years, a sharp increase in the number of satellites in near-earth orbits can be expected. "Currently, about 80 countries participate in space research, more than 50 states allocate funds from their budgets for space programs," he said. - In addition to governments, private companies are involved in space activities, and it can be expected that in the future tens of thousands of satellites will be in orbit - more than they were launched since the beginning of the space era. Over the past five years, American commercial companies have launched more satellites designed for remote sensing of the Earth than all other countries, but in the future these states will be able to launch twice as many satellites as the United States. "

Now the national space industry, according to Ratcliffe, generates revenues of $500 million. "We are heavily dependent on space systems, and if disrupted, almost all sectors of the American economy, including transport, telecommunications, finance and agriculture, could be seriously affected," he concluded.

Iranian scientist killed from satellite-controlled weapons

At the end of November 2020, nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in Iran, who, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, participated in the development of the country's military nuclear program and led the work on the creation of nuclear warheads. According to the Al-Aliam TV channel, the scientist was killed with weapons that were controlled via satellite. Read more here.

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