Washington fears a Russian nuclear attack against its satellites in orbit

According to the American press, American intelligence is concerned about a plan to manufacture a nuclear space weapon by Russia. This weapon could endanger satellites in orbit, by silencing their transmissions and commands.

The alert was given on Wednesday February 14 by the American Michael Turner. The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee spoke of “information relating to a serious threat to national security”, a threat which would relate to Russia. He asked Joe Biden to declassify all information relating to this danger, so that Congress, the government and its allies “can discuss the actions necessary to address them”.

This enigmatic announcement set the American press in turmoil and opened the way to all kinds of speculation. Media like NBC or CNN have mentioned “Russian military capabilities worrying” without giving further details. It was the CBS News channel which was the most precise, while basing itself on anonymous sources: Russia would intend to place a nuclear weapon in orbit in order to use it against American satellites to reduce them to silence through radiation.

Unfounded accusations according to the Kremlin

If this were the case, Moscow would be violating the 1967 Space Treaty which prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The disclosure of this information, which has not been confirmed, forced the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council to be more explicit on Thursday. It would indeed be an anti-satellite weapon developed by Russia, but he refused to specify whether it had a nuclear dimension. John Kirby said there was no immediate threat. He also clarified that it was not a weapon that could be used against human beings or cause destruction on Earth.

For Moscow, these accusations are unfounded. Russia talks about inventions “malicious”or even “maneuvers” from Washington, at a time when the American Congress is reluctant to adopt aid of 60 billion dollars for Ukraine (blocked for several months). These accusations could thus tip the scales in favor of the vote.

A plausible weapon

But such a weapon, the objective of which would be to destroy enemy satellites in space, is not extravagant. Last year, a report from an American study center, based in Washington, mentioned Moscow’s development of weapons to “blind” other satellites, without being alarmed. The debate around Russia’s space capabilities in any case awakens the fear of a modern “star wars”. The abandonment of the 1967 space treaty, to which the United States and Russia have joined, could launch a new arms race with all the risks that this entails of a militarization of space.