Russia is reportedly developing a new anti-satellite weapon<\/a> specifically designed to target Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink <\/a>constellation, according to intelligence findings from two Nato nations. <\/p>\n These reports, seen by The Associated Press, indicate the so-called “zone-effect” weapon aims to flood Starlink orbits with hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets.<\/p>\n Such a weapon could potentially disable multiple satellites at once, but also carries the risk of catastrophic collateral damage to other orbiting systems. The alleged objective behind this development is to curb Western space superiority, which has played a crucial role<\/a> in aiding Ukraine on the battlefield.<\/p>\n However, analysts who have not reviewed these specific findings express scepticism, questioning whether such a weapon could be deployed without causing uncontrollable chaos in space. This chaos would affect not only Western entities but also companies and countries, including Russia and its ally China<\/a>, that depend on thousands of orbiting satellites for vital communications, defence, and other essential needs. <\/p>\n These significant repercussions, including potential risks to its own space systems, could ultimately deter Moscow from deploying or using such a weapon.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Starlink satellites is seen above Lawndale, California after being launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on 18 June, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t buy it. Like, I really don\u2019t,\u201d said Victoria Samson, a space-security specialist at the Secure World Foundation who leads the Colorado-based nongovernmental organisation\u2019s annual study of anti-satellite systems. \u201cI would be very surprised, frankly, if they were to do something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n But the commander of the Canadian military’s Space Division, Brig. Gen. Christopher Horner, said such Russian work cannot be ruled out in light of previous U.S. allegations that Russia also has been pursuing an indiscriminate nuclear, space-based weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say I\u2019ve been briefed on that type of system. But it\u2019s not implausible,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the reporting on the nuclear weapons system is accurate and that they\u2019re willing to develop that and willing to go to that end, well it wouldn\u2019t strike me as shocking that something just short of that, but equally damaging, is within their wheelhouse of development.\u201d<\/p>\n Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t respond to messages from the AP seeking comment. Russia has previously called for United Nations efforts to stop the orbital deployment of weapons<\/a> and President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear space weapons.<\/p>\n Weapon would have multiple targets <\/p>\n The intelligence findings were shown to the AP on condition that the services involved were not identified and the news organization was not able to independently verify the findings’ conclusions.<\/p>\n The U.S. Space Force<\/a> didn’t respond to e-mailed questions. The French military’s Space Command<\/a> said in a statement to the AP that it could not comment on the findings but said, \u201cWe can inform you that Russia has, in recent years, been multiplying irresponsible, dangerous, and even hostile actions in space.\u201d <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n In this long exposure photo, a string of SpaceX StarLink satellites passes over an old stone house.<\/p>\n Russia views Starlink in particular as a grave threat, the findings indicate. The thousands of low-orbiting satellites have been pivotal for Ukraine\u2019s survival against Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year. <\/p>\n Starlink’s high-speed internet service is used by Ukrainian forces for battlefield communications, weapons targeting and other roles and by civilians and government officials where Russian strikes have affected communications. <\/p>\n Russian officials repeatedly have warned that commercial satellites serving Ukraine’s military could be legitimate targets. This month, Russia said it has fielded a new ground-based missile system, the S-500, which is capable of hitting low-orbit targets.<\/p>\n Unlike a missile that Russia tested in 2021 to destroy a defunct Cold War-era satellite, the new weapon in development would target multiple Starlinks at once, with pellets possibly released by yet-to-be launched formations of small satellites, the intelligence findings say.<\/p>\n Canada’s Horner said it is hard to see how clouds of pellets could be corralled to only strike Starlink and that debris from such an attack could get \u201cout of control in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n “You blow up a box full of BBs,\u201d he said. Doing that would \u201cblanket an entire orbital regime and take out every Starlink satellite and every other satellite that\u2019s in a similar regime. And I think that\u2019s the part that is incredibly troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n System is possibly just experimental <\/p>\n The findings seen by the AP didn’t say when Russia might be capable of deploying such a system nor detail whether it has been tested or how far along research is believed to be.<\/p>\n The system is in active development and information about the timing of an expected deployment is too sensitive to share, according to an official familiar with the findings and other related intelligence that the AP did not see. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the nonpublic findings.<\/p>\n Such Russian research could be simply experimental, Samson said.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t put it past some scientists … to build out something like this because it\u2019s an interesting thought-experiment and they think, you know, \u2018Maybe at some point we can get our government to pay for it,'” she said.<\/p>\n Samson suggested the spectre of a supposed new Russian threat may also be an effort to elicit an international response. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A long-exposure image of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites passing over Capilla del Sauce in Uruguay. (Mariana Suarez\/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cOften times people pushing these ideas are doing it because they want the U.S. side to build something like that or … to justify increased spending on counterspace capabilities or using it for a more hawkish approach on Russia,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying that this is what\u2019s happening with this,” Samson added. \u201cBut it has been known to happen that people take these crazy arguments and use them.\u201d <\/p>\n Tiny pellets could remain undetected<\/p>\n The intelligence findings say the pellets would be so small \u2014 just millimeters across \u2014 that they would evade detection by ground- and space-based systems that scan for space objects, which could make it hard to pin blame for any attack on Moscow.<\/p>\n Clayton Swope, who specialises in space security and weaponry at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based security and policy think tank, said if \u201cthe pellets are not trackable, that complicates things\u201d but \u201cpeople would figure it out.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIf satellites start winking out with damage, I guess you could put two and two together,” he said.<\/p>\n Exactly how much destruction tiny pellets could do isn’t clear. In November, a suspected impact by a small piece of debris was sufficient to damage a Chinese spacecraft that was meant to bring three astronauts back to the Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cMost damage would probably be done to the solar panels because they\u2019re probably the most fragile part\u201d of satellites, Swope said. \u201cThat\u2019d be enough, though, to damage a satellite and probably bring it offline.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2018Weapon of fear\u2019 could threaten chaos<\/p>\n After such an attack, pellets and debris would over time fall back toward Earth, possibly damaging other orbiting systems on their way down, analysts say.<\/p>\n Starlink’s orbits are about 550 kilometers (340 miles) above the planet. China\u2019s Tiangong space station and the International Space Station operate at lower orbits, \u201cso both would face risks,\u201d according to Swope.<\/p>\n The space chaos that such a weapon could cause might enable Moscow to threaten its adversaries without actually having to use it, Swope said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely feels like a weapon of fear, looking for some kind of deterrence or something,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Samson said the drawbacks of an indiscriminate pellet-weapon could steer Russia off such a path.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve invested a huge amount of time and money and human power into being, you know, a space power,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Using such a weapon \u201cwould effectively cut off space for them as well,\u201d Samson said. \u201dI don’t know that they would be willing to give up that much.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-648230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115763146102090587","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2157650330.jpeg\")
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