US intelligence sources have said that Vladimir Putin is preparing to launch a nuclear weapons into space to target satellites.
Reports are emerging that Russia has made new advanced on space munitions that will threaten satellite networks.
If a satellite explodes this will result in fragments that will create a large cloud of debris that cold collide with other satellites and spacecraft, which would then burn in Earth’s orbit and unburned parts would land on Earth.
Congressman Mike Turner, Head of the House intelligence committee has warned that this is a “serious national security threat” and has called on President Joe Biden to declassify the intelligence.
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Turner told the Biden administration, “I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.”
Former US Army general Barry McCaffrey said that NATO’s GPS and communications are “all fundamentally space based,” therefore any attack on US satellites would be “an act of war.”
A source told ABC News, “It is very concerning and very sensitive,” Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat warned that this is “significant,” but there is no “cause for panic.”
Himes added, “As to whether more can be declassified about this issue, that is a worthwhile discussion but it is not a discussion to be had in public.”
Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told The Telegraph: “If Russia has deployed nuclear weapons in orbit that would be a deliberate and direct violation of the 1967 outer space treaty by Moscow.
“The outer space treaty is a cornerstone of space stability, and this would be a grave setback for international arms control.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US reports are “malicious fabrication,” Tass reports.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the rumours as “yet another trick” by the White House.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, “Americans understand that there are a range of threats and challenges in the world that we’re dealing with every single day.
“I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he has taken, is going to ensure the security of the American people going forward.
“I’ll just say that I personally reached out to the Gang of Eight. It is highly unusual, in fact, for the national security adviser to do that.”
