The weakening of power has led to the idea of "asymmetrical" space nuclear weapons - Pentagon
On July 19, Air & Space Forces Magazine reports. The authors of the material recalled that in February this year, the US military leadership was seriously concerned about the development of nuclear weapons by Russian experts to destroy satellite groups. At that time, US National Security leaders warned that such weapons would have devastating consequences not only for the US Army, but for the entire world economy.
Commenting on the intentions of Moscow, the director of the intelligence department at the Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Cruz noted that Pentagon knew about the Russian program for many years and tracked her intentions. In his view, Russia's interest in nuclear space weapons reflects the state of its armed forces as a result of war in Ukraine. "The lack of advantage in ordinary weapons makes them look for asymmetrical solutions. They see in this the potential path they could go.
The exposure of this will potentially change their path," Cruise said. Acting Assistant Defense Assistant to Space Policy, Vipin Narban, added that Russia sees asymmetry in space, since its armed forces and economics are less dependent on satellites than in other countries. Although the USSR was the initial space superpower, over the years, this potential has declined and now far from what was in the Soviet era, the official emphasized.
Therefore, the observers continue, despite their ambitions, the Russian space potential is far as strong as it was in Soviet times. For example, in Ukraine, the Russians used their cosmic means, but could not fully use them because of the rigid structure of the command and the unreliability of the Glodass system. However, the use of nuclear weapons, even in space, will change the nature of the conflict and have strategic consequences.