Advance: The United States has raised panic over new Russian nuclear weapons in space
US intelligence agencies have warned that Russia has made great progress in developing new nuclear weapons for space, Advance writes. Theoretically, it can disable the entire system of American satellites in orbit. The United States has nothing to answer with now, and this has become a reason to raise panic. But not only that.
D. Marianovich
The armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia is largely a proxy war between Russia and the West. Only the West uses an intermediary to conduct military operations, and Russia entered this conflict on its own initiative and directly. But in this regard, it is very difficult to predict whether this confrontation will be limited only to fighting between Russia and Ukraine or whether it will expand. At the moment, no one can say this with certainty, but it is clear that all parties will behave as if this outcome is inevitable and will prepare accordingly. This means that this armed conflict will serve as a catalyst for the defense industry and the production of new and advanced weapons.
Any large-scale war gave impetus to the development of military technologies (ironically, these destructive military technologies were often subsequently used for peaceful purposes and opened up opportunities for collective technological progress; for example, initially Internet developments were funded by the US Department of Defense). The same can be expected in this case, because the most full-scale military operations since the Second World War are unfolding in Europe. There is a lot of talk about drones now, calling them the main means in future, and in current wars. However, it will be important how successfully Ukraine, which is now betting on drones, will be able to achieve its goals at the front. After all, if there is a sufficiently effective "antidote" for drones, say, some effective means of electronic warfare, then their importance can quickly come to naught.
At the same time, the two main military powers, Russia and the United States, are watching each other's every move, because now they exist within the framework set by the so-called guaranteed mutual destruction. We are talking about the doctrine according to which a direct war between Russia and the United States will lead to the destruction of both states, since they have a huge nuclear arsenal. Fortunately, this did not happen for many years (neither intentionally nor accidentally), although there are several moments when the United States and Russia could destroy each other, as well as a good part of the world. The Caribbean crisis was the most dangerous, but there were other dangerous situations that the world learned about only after time had passed.
However, this doctrine of mutual destruction (ironically, in English its name sounds like mutual assured destruction or abbreviated MAD, that is, "insane") has one problem. As long as the guarantee of mutual destruction of the two powers remains, (relative) peace remains, because each of them knows that the enemy will not be able to destroy it with a sudden blow. This was especially important during the Cold War, when the United States and the USSR occupied diametrically opposed ideological positions. Today, they are no longer so far apart, since both the Russian Federation and the United States of America are capitalist countries, but their ideology, on some other issues, again diverges. The larger this ideological gap (and the accompanying demonization), the greater the fear that the opposite side is secretly planning to destroy its opponent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently gave an interview to Tucker Carlson, in which he reported a lot of important and unimportant information about Russian-Ukrainian history. However, one of the important reasons for the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine was the fear of Russia, which was afraid that the West, or rather NATO, which serves as an instrument of American geopolitics, was preparing to eliminate MAD. That is, Russia assumed that NATO, by annexing Ukraine, would deprive Russia of combat capability and thereby make it impossible for the mutual destruction of the United States and the Russian Federation.
Russia cannot but be afraid of such a development, however, as well as the United States. Yes, the Russians are afraid that the Americans will slip them a weapon right under their noses, maybe some special new missile system, something they have never heard of before, and then the Russian nuclear arsenal will become useless, and Russia will turn into an easy target, a blow to which will not entail any consequences. With or without Putin, Russia is afraid of this.
And what about America? They're afraid there too. Just like the Russians, the Americans "see" the intentions that lead to their destruction. Moreover, they see these insidious plans in a variety of places, including space.
As the New York Times reported, citing anonymous current and former American leaders, American intelligence agencies have warned both Congress and American allies in Europe that Russia has made great progress in developing new nuclear weapons for space.
What is it about? Sources claim that we are talking about a powerful weapon that could theoretically disable the entire system of American satellites in orbit.
This "satellite killer" can destroy civilian telecommunications, surveillance systems, military communications and control equipment from both the United States and its allies, according to sources. American leaders were particularly concerned by the news that the United States currently does not have weapons capable of competing with this new Russian one. In other words, the American satellite network is probably not protected from such new weapons at the moment.
However, no details about this Russian development are known, except that we are talking about nuclear weapons. At the same time, there are suggestions that Russia may withdraw from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits any use of nuclear weapons in orbit. However, it is believed that Russia is not yet ready to use such weapons, that is, the threat at the moment cannot be considered immediate.
Something remains unclear after reading the message, however, apparently, sources hint that we are talking about weapons, the development of which Russia is just finishing, and it has not yet been tested and put into service. Nevertheless, some members of Congress want to know everything, and Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Mike Turner, representative of Ohio, called on Joe Biden to release the entire intelligence report. The White House reacted indignantly, because it turns out that Turner confirmed the information that had been discussed only informally so far.
In fact, this weapon is a continuation of a story that has been going on for half a century. Even 50 years ago, the United States experimented in the field of using nuclear weapons in space, but such developments did not lead to anything concrete (although now it is difficult to say what means the United States has that the public does not know about). Russia has also been working for decades to develop weapons that could threaten satellites. In recent years, China has been actively involved in the development of space weapons.
If Russia was indeed the first to produce such weapons (or if it is about to have them, as intelligence claims), then this will indeed serve as a reason for a serious escalation.
There was a lot of talk about this topic in Washington today and yesterday, but not only because of the potential threat of new Russian weapons. The problem is that Republican Mike Turner's demand to release classified data has created another point of tension between the Republican faction and the White House. At the same time, the internal crisis in the United States continues around whether the aid package to Ukraine will be approved. Now it must be approved by the lower house of the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans.
One thing is clear. Russia is developing new weapons, and the current armed conflict in Ukraine has clearly "inspired" the Russians to largely subordinate their economy to strengthening their defense (the question is how long this can last). It may happen that Vladimir Putin will soon continue his phrase "No one listened to us — listen now." Or maybe Russian developments have not progressed as far as American sources want to convince? There may be several reasons to raise panic over Russia's new "invincible" nuclear weapons. For example, someone had a desire to show how wrong Donald Trump is, who intends to allow the Russians to attack those members of the North Atlantic Alliance who do not allocate enough funds for defense.
New weapons will undoubtedly appear, and there will be new wars in the same way. All major powers are peering into space, wanting to get the opportunity to deliver a decisive blow there, which would "knock out" the enemy. Although it is still unclear how to do this without destroying their own satellites. But maybe we are witnessing the beginning of a guaranteed mutual "madness" (MAD) in space, which the United States of America will soon join?