Moscow Is Developing Antisatellite Weapon, U.S. Confirms

"WASHINGTON -- Russia is pursuing an "antisatellite capability" that represents a serious concern but doesn't present an active threat to Americans' safety, the Biden administration said Thursday after declassifying intelligence at the behest of a member of Congress.

The system is still in development, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "There is no immediate threat to anyone's safety," he said Thursday. "It is not an active capability, and it has not yet been deployed."

The intelligence the White House declassified was limited, and Kirby didn't confirm whether there is any nuclear component to the Russian antisatellite device -- though he did say it would violate a decades-old treaty banning the deployment of nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in space.

Intelligence that remains classified indicates that Russia is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon in space that could be used to target satellites, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

President Biden has been briefed on the developing capability for many weeks, Kirby said. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, provided information Thursday to members of Congress who have oversight of intelligence matters.

The disclosure by the White House came a day after Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a cryptic statement about an unspecified "serious national-security threat" to the U.S. and requested that Biden declassify information around it. The unusual maneuver caught administration officials and lawmakers by surprise, and fueled speculation about the nature of the threat.

White House officials were eager to reassure lawmakers and the public that Russia's capability, while serious, wasn't something that posed an imminent danger to Americans or allied countries.

But frustration and confusion mounted around Turner's vague warning. Rep. Andy Ogles (R., Tenn.) sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) requesting that he open an inquiry, saying Turner's disclosure was done with "a reckless disregard of the implications and consequences said information would have on geopolitics, domestic and foreign markets."

In a follow-up statement Thursday, Turner said his intelligence panel had "worked in consultation" with the Biden administration to notify the broader Congress of the national security threat and that the language he had used was "cleared by the administration."

Administration officials say they approved only a sentence to be used internally in Congress, but not the language Turner used in his release that was shared widely." [1]

1. World News: Moscow Is Developing Antisatellite Weapon, U.S. Confirms. Volz, Dustin; Lubold, Gordon.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Feb 2024: A.7.