Two NATO intelligence agencies believe Russia is developing anti-satellite weapons capable of disabling Starlink satellites through a cloud of debris, according to Associated Press, citing intelligence data.
The weapon system under development would deploy hundreds of thousands of high-density pellets into Starlink orbits to disable multiple satellites simultaneously. Intelligence sources say the goal is to limit the space advantage Western countries hold, which has been assisting Ukraine on the battlefield.
The pellets would measure only millimeters in diameter, making them too small for ground-based and space-based systems that scan for space objects to detect. This could make it difficult to attribute any such attack to Moscow.
Intelligence findings do not specify when Russia could deploy such a system, nor do they indicate whether it has been tested or at what stage development stands.
The weapon carries risks of catastrophic collateral damage to other space systems. Analysts quoted by AP believe such a weapon would be unlikely to function without causing uncontrolled chaos in space, affecting numerous companies and countries, including Russia itself and its ally China.
The risks to its own space systems could deter Moscow from deploying or using such a weapon, intelligence assessments suggest.
Brigadier General Christopher Horner, commander of Canada's Space Division, said such work by Russia cannot be ruled out. "I can't say that I've been briefed on that particular type of system. But it's not out of the realm of possibility," Horner stated. "If the reports about the nuclear weapon system [in space] are accurate and they're prepared to develop it and prepared to go down that route, then I'm not shocked that something not quite like that but equally as damaging is in their development arsenal."
