Concerns are mounting inside the U.S. military over the possibility that Russia could take its rivalry with the West beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
According to Fox News, Stephen N. Whiting, who leads U.S. Space Command, warned that officials are closely watching reports that Moscow may be exploring the deployment of a nuclear weapon in orbit — a move that could put thousands of satellites at risk.
Speaking on a podcast appearance, Whiting made clear the issue is being taken seriously at the highest levels.
“Russia remains a very historic and sophisticated space power. Yes, they have been hurt by economic sanctions, but they continue to invest in counter-space weapons, with the most concerning reports being that they are potentially thinking about placing on orbit a nuclear ASAT weapon,” he said.
He added that such a step would violate international agreements, including the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits certain military activities in space.
“That would violate the Outer Space Treaty that they’re a party to, and it would hold at risk everyone’s satellites in low Earth orbit, and that would be an outcome that we just couldn’t tolerate,” Whiting said.
While he declined to discuss specific intelligence, the general emphasized the seriousness of the reports.
“I won’t speak about our intelligence sources and methods, but obviously it’s a report that we’re very concerned about,” he said.
The potential consequences, he warned, could be far-reaching.
A nuclear detonation in low Earth orbit — an area spanning roughly 100 to 1,200 miles above Earth — could disrupt or destroy satellite networks that modern society depends on.
“All of low Earth orbit would be at risk, and you know, that’s over 10,000 satellites today with these new proliferated low earth orbit constellations like Starlink,” he said.
Such systems support everything from GPS navigation and communications to financial transactions and internet access.
Whiting noted that many people may not fully grasp how dependent daily life is on these systems.
“The average citizen around the world probably doesn’t think about how space enables their life every day, but if they carry a smartphone in their pocket, they are leveraging space multiple times a day,” he said.
He also pointed to ongoing Russian activity involving interference with satellite signals.
“Clearly across Europe, we have seen sustained satellite communication jamming and GPS jamming,” Whiting said.
According to the general, those disruptions are already affecting civilian operations.
“The real problem with that GPS jamming, for example, is it’s being done in a way that’s affecting civil aviation in Eastern Europe and across Southern Europe,” he said.
“When we put at risk civilian airliners full of citizens just trying to go on business or holiday, that’s incredibly problematic,” he added. “We do not want to see this normalization of trying to interfere with other satellites.”
Whiting suggested that such tactics may reflect an effort by Russia to counterbalance perceived disadvantages in conventional military strength, particularly against the United States and NATO.
“From a Russian perspective, they look at the United States, they look at NATO and they see a conventional overmatch there of conventional arms,” he said. “They believe that novel ways of trying to undermine the United States and NATO, such as by neutralizing our space capabilities, helps them to level the battlefield.”
