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Sources have alleged that recently issued warnings from GOP House Intelligence chair Mike Turner relate to Kremlin plans to place nuclear capabilities in space.
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Concerns over a grave national security threat were raised this week following calls from the GOP to declassify sensitive military information to help the US and its allies commence much-needed defence planning.
Insiders, speaking to ABC Today, allege that the incident relates to recently uncovered intelligence on the potential deployment of nuclear capabilities in space.
The media outlet reported that the capability would not be used to target Earth, but other satellites. The recent announcement has not confirmed whether the threat represents a nuclear weapon or nuclear-enabled technology.
The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee released information regarding the threat to all members of Congress.
The threat is not expected to pose immediate risks to the US and its allies.
Dr Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and leading national security voice on space policy, warned that although the nuclear anti-satellite capability would likely not yet be operational, it represents a critical challenge to cooperation and collaboration in space.
“Consistent media reporting suggests it’s a Russian counterspace capability with ‘some form of nuclear component’,” Dr Davis told Defence Connect.
“The latest reports suggest that the capability is yet to be operationally deployed, but is being developed.
“If Russia were to actually place nuclear weapons in orbit, that would be a violation of article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, and very serious indeed – it would completely undermine any efforts towards further space arms control and prevention of weaponisation of space.”
The use of nuclear weapons in space would result in the indiscriminate damage of commercial and military satellites, Dr Davis continued.
“A nuclear-weapons-based capability would, if employed, generate wide area affects to take down large numbers of satellites quickly, but also be highly indiscriminate, and potentially generate electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects on the Earth’s surface,” he said.
The orbital launch of nuclear weapons against terrestrial targets remains highly unlikely.
“Short of the Russians employing either system against terrestrial targets, which seems highly unlikely, the effects of such a capability would be confined to space. The notion of dropping nuclear bombs from orbit onto terrestrial targets has been largely discredited as ineffective due to the laws of orbital dynamics, in comparison with delivery by ballistic missile,” Dr Davis said.
The academic noted that threats were not limited to the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in space.
Other potential risks include nuclear-powered satellites that could be used to power enhanced directed jamming or electronic warfare capabilities or the use of a fractional orbital bombardment system that could have nuclear-armed hypersonic glide vehicles, Dr Davis continued.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to conduct intelligence briefings on the incident over the next day.
