In Russia, they told about the work on the means of space attack in the United States. The United States is practicing the use of orbiters that can deliver covert strikes from space. This was stated by the general director of the Almaz-Antey concern of East Kazakhstan Region, Yan Novikov [...], in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.
Novikov noted that the United States is developing technologies that can make it possible to deliver quick strikes on any targets anywhere in the world. "These are primarily X-37 orbital unmanned vehicles," the head of the concern said.
According to him, the official role of the X-37 is in scientific research. The orbiter made its first flight in 2010. Today, the United States has a fleet of several X-37 vehicles.
"But we understand that they can serve as carriers of nuclear warheads. The United States plans to further increase the number of such vehicles in space. This is a serious challenge, " Novikov said.
Earlier, the publication Popular Mechanics wrote that the only existing modification of the X-37B mini-shuttle is not designed to carry nuclear weapons. The author of the material noted that the low load capacity will not allow taking more than three bombs with W80 warheads. Moreover, to drop the X-37B bombs, it will be necessary to change the orbit, and such a maneuver can be noticed by Russian surveillance means.
In May, the head of the Almaz-Antey concern of East Kazakhstan Region suggested that the X-37 device could carry up to six nuclear warheads.
Daniil Irinin