Russia launches ‘area weapon’ in path of US satellite tv for pc: Pentagon | House Information

US believes Russia’s just lately launched satellite tv for pc can examine and assault different satellites in low Earth orbit.

America says Russia has launched a satellite tv for pc that US intelligence officers imagine to be a weapon able to inspecting and attacking different satellites.

A Soyuz rocket blasted off from Russia’s Plesetsk launch website, about 800km (500 miles) north of Moscow, on Thursday, deploying in low Earth orbit no less than 9 satellites, together with COSMOS 2576, a sort of Russian army “inspector” spacecraft US officers have lengthy condemned as exhibiting reckless area behaviour.

“Now we have noticed nominal exercise and assess it’s possible a counterspace weapon presumably able to attacking different satellites in low Earth orbit,” a spokesperson for US House Command, a part of the US Division of Protection, stated in a press release on Tuesday.

“Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the identical orbit as a US authorities satellite tv for pc,” it stated.

COSMOS 2576 resembles beforehand deployed counterspace payloads from 2019 and 2022, the assertion added, referring to previous Russian ways of deploying satellites near delicate US spy satellites.

US intelligence companies had been anticipating the launch of COSMOS 2576 and knowledgeable allies of their evaluation of the satellite tv for pc earlier than its deployment in area, based on a US official aware of the intelligence.

The launch additionally included civilian satellites deployed to completely different orbits.

“This mixture of army and civilian payloads was completely surprising. By no means seen that earlier than on a Russian launch,” stated Bart Hendrickx, an analyst monitoring Russia’s area programme.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Overseas Minister Sergey Ryabkov denied the US assertion, saying Moscow opposed the deployment of weapons in orbit, Russia’s TASS and Interfax information companies reported.

Ryabkov stated Russia was nonetheless complying with quantitative restrictions on nuclear weapons set by the New START treaty between Moscow and Washington.

Earlier launches

The Russian satellite tv for pc launched in 2019 ejected an object into area and carefully adopted a satellite tv for pc from the US Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace (NRO), an intelligence company overseeing spy satellites.

As of Tuesday, COSMOS 2576 had not gone close to a US satellite tv for pc, however area analysts noticed it to be in the identical orbital ring as USA 314, a bus-sized NRO satellite tv for pc launched in 2021.

The Russian satellite tv for pc seems to be trailing USA 314’s orbital path at a quicker pace, suggesting the 2 will ultimately come into nearer proximity, based on a overview by the Reuters information company of orbital knowledge in House Command’s public satellite tv for pc catalogue.

The satellite tv for pc was deployed because the US alleges Russia to be growing a space-based nuclear weapon able to destroying whole networks of satellites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in February that Moscow had no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in area, insisting that his nation has solely developed area capabilities just like these of the US.

US officers imagine Russia has launched no less than one satellite tv for pc, COSMOS 2553, associated to its nuclear area weapon programme, based on officers aware of the intelligence.

Nonetheless, US officers have stated Russia has not deployed a nuclear weapon in area.

‘Peaceable goals’

Because the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has shrouded a lot of its area actions in secrecy and threatened to assault US satellites aiding the Ukrainian defence, akin to SpaceX’s Starlink, a community of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit that present web service.

The US and Russia have been sparring within the United Nations Safety Council over satellite tv for pc weapons.

In 2020, Russia dismissed accusations from the US and the UK that it had examined an antisatellite weapon in area as “propaganda”.

On the time, the Russian Ministry of Overseas Affairs insisted on Moscow’s “dedication to obligations on the nondiscriminatory use and examine of area with peaceable goals”.