Synopsis
Here is a summary of the key points from the paper:
- The report discusses Russia’s growing space warfare capabilities and intentions to use them against the U.S. and its allies.
- Over the past decade, Russia has developed various anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and systems to disrupt, disable or destroy U.S. satellites. These include jammers, lasers, kinetic kill vehicles, and co-orbital attack satellites.
- Russia sees space as an arena where it can gain strategic advantage over the U.S. and NATO. It intends to hold U.S. space assets “hostage” as part of ensuring victory in Ukraine.
- Russia has steadily escalated provocations in space leading up to and during the Ukraine war, including an ASAT test in 2021, cyberattacks on satellite communications, and threats to Starlink satellites.
- The U.S. is highly dependent on satellites for military operations and has not adequately prepared to defend these vulnerable space assets. Russia is less reliant on satellites and less vulnerable to counterspace attacks.
- The report argues the longer the Ukraine war continues, the more incentive Russia has to escalate against U.S. satellites. This could reverse the military situation in Russia’s favor.
- Recommendations include establishing space dominance doctrine, embracing distributed satellite networks like Starlink, investing in defensive systems and interoperability with allies, and declaring attacks on U.S. satellites as acts of war.
In summary, the report highlights Russia’s extensive space warfare capabilities and strategic motivations for employing them, and urges greater U.S. efforts to defend its vulnerable space assets.
