China, Russia space ‘militarisation’ could include nuclear weapon: US official
- House Armed Services Committee hears Washington’s concerns that Moscow plans to arm a satellite with an ‘indiscriminate’ device
- Assistant defence secretary for space policy John Plumb also took aim at China’s satellites, which he said could be put to military use
According to Plumb, Russia is “developing a concerning anti-satellite capability related to a new satellite carrying a nuclear device that Russia is [also] developing”. He said the US is concerned about being “unable to convince them otherwise to ultimately fly a nuclear weapon in space”.
Plumb emphasised that such an “indiscriminate” weapon would jeopardise all satellites, along with the world’s essential communications, scientific research, meteorological data, agriculture, commerce, and national security services that “we all depend upon”.
He also said it could render low Earth orbit “unusable”. Responding to a lawmaker’s question of whether that could last a year, Plumb said “I believe it could”. Asked if the threat was looming, Plumb said it was “imminent in the way that we should have to worry about it right now”.
