Russian efforts to create anti-satellite weapons are cause for U.S. concern
WASHINGTON • The U.S. has gathered highly sensitive intelligence about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with the upper echelons of government, according to four people who have been briefed on the intelligence. The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said the capability was not yet operational.
The intelligence sparked an urgent but vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, who urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat.
Rep. Mike Turner gave no details about the nature of the threat, and the Biden administration also declined to address it. But several leading lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, cautioned against being overly alarmed.
A congressional aide said he understood that the threat relates to a space-deployed Russian anti-satellite weapon. Such a weapon could pose a major danger to U.S. satellites that transmit billions of bytes of data each hour.
The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not yet clear if the Russian weapon has nuclear capability, but said that is the fear.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the claims about a new Russian military capability as a ruse intended to make the U.S. 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. “Let’s see what ruse the White House will use.”
The threat Turner raised concerns about is not an active capability, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence.
Turner issued a statement urging the administration to declassify the information so the U.S. and its allies can openly discuss how to respond.
He also sent an email to members of Congress saying
his committee had “identified an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability” that should be known to all congressional policymakers.
He encouraged them to come to a SCIF, a secure area, to review the intelligence.
Turner has been a voice for stronger U.S. national security, putting him at odds with some Republican colleagues who favour a more isolationist approach.
He has called for the renewal of a key U.S. government surveillance tool while some fellow Republicans and liberal Democrats have raised privacy objections.