Russia conducted trials for a direct ascent anti-missile (DA-ASAT) by the name PL-19 Nudol this Wednesday, Apr. 15 after testing ‘midcourse phase’ interceptor missiles and funding research on multi-megaton nuclear drones in December of 2018. A successful anti-missile launch of this kind can target and destroy any satellite in the Earth’s lower orbit.
The development of such a testing process is being monitored by the US Space Command and raises strong concerns by the Pentagon regarding the militarization of space. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been advocating strongly for ‘outer space arms control’. However, open testing of missiles now indicates that Russia’s position is meant to rival US space militarization. In fact, in February of this year, two Russian satellites were seen following an American spy satellite, exhibiting familiar parallels to the Moscow and Washington space race.
Russia is not the only rival in space. In 2007, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center reported that China ruined its own satellite while testing an ASAT missile, and just last year, India conducted a successful test for the same kind of weaponry. Iran and North Korea also seem to be developing military technology for space. The US is understandably concerned for its communication and navigation satellites, specifically GPS satellites that track all military forces, and may be seeking satellites and sensor layers to identify such missiles.
Victor Baranets, a columnist for the Komsomolskaya Pravda, claimed that since 2010, the US had known about Russian weapon trials of this kind. Russia may encounter budget constraints arising from its occupation of Crimea, which in combination with the world’s declining economy, could result in the failure of its missile tests.
Comments