Russia and China are rapidly equipping for space warfare?
The US intelligence community warns that within the next few years Russia and China could possess destructive weapons for a war in space.
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| A Russian Soyuz 2.1 rocket carrying a satellite is launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Photo: AFP |
In a report titled "The US Intelligence Community's Worldwide Threat Assessment" released on February 13, US intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said that Russia and China are pursuing the development of "anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) to degrade the military capabilities of the US and its allies."
These anti-satellite weapons, which include ground-based ballistic missiles, are designed to destroy systems operating in space.
"In our assessment, if a future war broke out involving Russia or China, either country would see attacks on US and allied satellites as necessary to counter the military advantage the US enjoys from military, civilian, and commercial space systems," the report said.
Over the past few years, both Moscow and Beijing have focused on building “action-ready” forces dedicated to attacking space systems, the report said.
Meanwhile, publicly and diplomatically, Russia and China will continue to promote international agreements on non-weapons in space, and both countries will declare that space must be a peaceful environment.
More worryingly, according to US intelligence assessments, Russia and China will continue to launch experimental satellites into space. These satellites will conduct a variety of complex orbital operations, with at least one of them being used to enhance “anti-space” capabilities.
The US intelligence community believes that Russia and China's destructive ASAT weapons will possess initial strike capability within the next few years.
Former Russian Air Force Commander Viktor Bondarev said in 2017 that future wars could involve anti-space weapons. These weapons would be used to paralyze navigation, tracking, and communication systems, reducing the enemy’s ability to strike accurately.