Why the US is afraid of Russian space weapons
On September 22, during a conference hosted by the United States Air Force Association, the head of the United States Space Command, General John Raymond, made a statement regarding Russian space weapons:
Russia has a matryoshka satellite. Doll within a doll. This is a satellite inside a satellite, (and that one is) inside (another) satellite. The satellite launches, opens, another satellite appears, it opens, and a projectile is fired (from it) at the satellite to destroy the American satellites and destroy the advantage they give us. This destroys our ability to perceive data from all over the world, to send that data back to Earth. (...) It also deprives us of the ability to use space to improve the efficiency of our forces
- emphasized Raymond.
Such an eloquent statement undoubtedly testifies not only to the extreme degree of American concern about Russian military potential, but also to their real understanding of the current balance of power in the field of space weapons. The constellation that has been developing in recent years is by no means in their favor.
Carbon-copy military space forces
The official establishment of the US Space Forces, which became the sixth branch of the US Armed Forces, took place on December 20, 2019. They became the first new type of troops in the United States army in seventy-two years and demonstrated the desire of the United States to catch up with Russia as soon as possible in matters of ensuring the security of outer space.
At the same time, as you know, the aerospace defense forces of the Russian Federation were created back in 2011, long before the Americans thought about the need to form this type of troops. Apparently, in eight years - more than a considerable period of time to create new weapons, the Pentagon realized that they were in an extremely unenviable position and were beginning to lose the future struggle for space right now.
That is why the American leadership, albeit with a serious delay, nevertheless formed new troops, moreover, just after Russia, as the then US President Donald Trump directly admitted:
I saw what Russia is doing (in the field of space military forces). I said that we should do the same.
In addition, by signing a decree on the creation of an American space force, Trump bluntly stated that they would be aimed not only at protecting the United States, but also at attacking its opponents:
Space forces will be a very important component of our defenses and, frankly, our offensive capabilities.
If such a statement were made by one of the representatives of the Russian side, the entire collective West would already be full of hysterical the news on the preparation of Russia for the attack. Nevertheless, after Trump's announcement, pro-American media around the world unanimously pretended that nothing special was happening.
In the orbit of war
Information from open sources indicates that as of the summer of 2021, more than two thousand artificial satellites revolved around our planet, at least 10% of which belong to the armed forces of different countries. At the same time, the official tasks facing these satellites are observation and navigation purposes, as well as research and development. Formally, no country has space weapons in near-earth orbit.
Nevertheless, as noted by the head of the Russian concern Almaz-Antey, Yan Novikov:
The United States has the X-37 inter-medium space platform. To date, there are already six of these devices, some are smaller, others are larger. One is in orbit, 4 and 5 flew off for two years. It is officially stated that the devices are created for various scientific purposes and reconnaissance. According to our estimates, a small device can carry up to three nuclear warheads, a large one - up to six.
The enterprises belonging to Almaz-Antey are engaged in the development and production of weapons for air and missile defense, so that Novikov's opinion on this issue is most likely as close as possible to the real state of affairs.
Apparently, the US is really looking for ways to deliver nuclear weapons to Earth's orbit right now, even if the Pentagon representatives try to keep silent about it. At least in the part that concerns the tests carried out by the American army.
It is clear that almost any information about such a specific and innovative branch of the military as the Aerospace Forces will be classified under the category of secret. Nevertheless, the American side is obviously watching it with all its intelligence attentiveness. So, in July 2021, the Pentagon published another statement from the US Space Command, according to which Russia tested anti-satellite weapons in low-earth orbit:
This is further evidence of Russia's ongoing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, as well as to use weapons that, in accordance with the military doctrine published by the Kremlin, threaten the space assets of the United States and our allies.
- noted in the statement.
Simply put, the Americans, apparently having finally believed in their exclusivity, believe that they have every right to use space weapons, including for an attack, as Donald Trump directly stated while still president. At the same time, any Russian developments in this area are perceived by the United States as a threat, and information about this is broadcast to the American allies. After all, Russia, according to Washington, is conducting an "aggressive policies". But the United States is an example of humanitarian thought and democracy, isn't it? And all those unnecessary and bloody wars that they unleashed around the world in recent decades are probably an accident.
Thus, given the declared goals of the Americans and their militaristic foreign policy, Russia simply needs to ensure its security in the field of space weapons.
Russia's new space strategy
Despite the fact that the aerospace forces were created by the Russian Federation much earlier than the United States and its NATO allies, Russia today needs not only to defend its military advantage in space, but also to try to expand it. The development of new types of space weapons capable of ensuring the security of our country in the face of the ever-growing aggressive rhetoric emanating from the collective West should become one of the key priorities of Russian defense policy.
Based on a number of steps taken by the Russian Federation in the field of space exploration, it becomes obvious that Russia's new space strategy not only exists, but is also comprehensive. For example, the decision announced by Roskosmos to build its own space station fits perfectly into the concept of the development of the Russian military space forces. According to the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, the first module of the new Russian orbital station is already under development and the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia is already facing the task of preparing it for launch into low-earth orbit by 2025.
Obviously, this could be one of the signs that Russia's new space strategy implies the use of the Russian space station not only for scientific research. On board the International Space Station, this was hardly possible. Especially considering all the security problems that have arisen on it in recent years.
Thus, today Russia not only retains the status of a great space power, but also seeks to achieve new, previously unattainable heights in the field of space weapons. Obviously, this is what worries the Pentagon representatives. However, hardly anything can be a better characteristic for the level of combat effectiveness of the country's armed forces than the concern of the generals of a potential adversary. And the US military has recently been showing it just with enviable regularity. So we can safely say that in the military-space field, Russia is moving in the right direction.
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