Russia mulling nuclear weapons for space: US intelligence
- US intelligence agencies have information about Russian ambitions for nuclear weapons in space
- It sparked an urgent but vague warning from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee
US intelligence shows that Russia is discussing the possibility of basing a nuclear weapon in space, according to people familiar with the matter, a finding that emerged after a top House Republican publicly warned of an unspecified national-security threat.
The threat cited by US intelligence is not yet an active one and Russia has not deployed a nuclear weapon into space, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While the conclusions are significant and US officials are taking the matter seriously, there’s no immediate cause for public alarm, said the people.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he would meet Thursday with the US House contingent of the so-called Gang of Eight congressional leaders. The meeting was scheduled before House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner on Wednesday issued a cryptic public statement.
The Ohio Republican called on President Joe Biden to declassify “all information relating to this threat”. Turner did not offer further details about the nature of the threat.
Turner’s decision to go public with the issue, without fully describing it, caused concern in Washington. The episode comes at a time when wars in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza are weighing heavily on the United States.
Several US media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and broadcasters ABC and Fox News reported earlier that the new intelligence was related to Russia’s attempts to develop a space-based antisatellite nuclear weapon. Current and former officials said the nuclear weapon was not in orbit.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the claims about a new Russian military capability as a ruse intended to make the US Congress support aid for Ukraine.
“It’s obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook,” Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies on Thursday. “Let’s see what ruse the White House will use.”
Sullivan declined to specify the subject of Thursday’s meeting or respond to Turner’s characterisation of the national security matter. “I’m not in a position to say anything further today,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sought to ease fears that Americans could face imminent danger. He nonetheless told reporters he would “press the administration to take appropriate action” in the meeting with Sullivan.
Sullivan told reporters at the White House Wednesday he had proactively reached out to the Gang of Eight to set a meeting – which he described a “highly unusual” move. The four House members of that group will meet Sullivan on Thursday, he said.
“That’s been on the books, so I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today,” Sullivan said at the White House. “That’s his choice to do that. All I can tell you is I’m focused on going to see him.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he hoped more information on the classified matter would be made public soon. Turner said the committee had provided members with all available material.
The House Intelligence panel’s top Democrat, congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut, also urged calm. “People should not panic,” he said, describing the matter as a long-standing, albeit serious issue.
Jeffries, speaking at the Capitol on Wednesday, said “it’s possible” he’ll attend a meeting Thursday. “I’ve got some familiarity with the situation,” he said.
The rapidly evolving threat in space was one of the primary reasons that the US Space Force was established in 2019.
A lot of that threat has to do with new capabilities that China and Russia have already developed that can interfere with critical satellite-based US communications, such as GPS and the ability to quickly detect missile launches.
In recent years the US has seen both China and Russia pursue new ways to jam satellites, intercept their feeds, blind them, shoot them down and even potentially grab them with a robotic arm to pull them out of their programmed orbits.
One of the key missions of the Space Force is to train troops skilled in detecting and defending against those threats.
In its 2020 Defence Space Strategy, the Pentagon said China and Russia presented the greatest strategic threat in space due to their aggressive development of counterspace abilities, and their military doctrine calling for extending conflict to space.
Additional reporting by Associated Press, Reuters and dpa
