The Kremlin Strike

U.S. MILITARY IS PREPARING FOR THE NEXT FRONTIER: SPACE WAR — CNN.com, 29 November 2016—Since man first explored space, it has been a largely peaceful environment. But now US adversaries are deploying weapons beyond Earth’s atmosphere, leading the US military to prepare for the frightening prospect of war in space.

…China and Russia are taking aim at America in space with a dizzying array of weapons seemingly borrowed from science fiction. Russia has deployed what could be multiple kamikaze satellites such as “Kosmos 2499”—designed to sidle up to American satellites and then, if ordered, disable or destroy them. China has launched the “Shiyan”—equipped with a grappling arm that could snatch US satellites right out of orbit…

SPACE WAR IS COMING… AND THE U.S. IS NOT READY — Politico, 6 April 2018—War is coming to outer space, and the Pentagon warns it is not yet ready, following years of underinvesting while the military focused on a host of threats on Earth.

Russia and China are years ahead of the United States in developing the means to destroy or disable satellites that the U.S. military depends on for everything from gathering intelligence to guiding precision bombs, missiles and drones…

…There is the potential for an actual physical attack — with a missile or laser — to destroy space assets. Some experts worry the most about that scenario, which was exemplified by a 2008 test in which China tested an anti-satellite laser to blow up one of its own satellites…

Space As a War-Fighting Domain — Air and Space Power Journal, Summer 2018—… In the future, our potential adversaries will have the capability to hold every one of our critically important national security satellites at risk…

…The best way to prevent war from extending to space is: to prepare for that possibility, deter aggressive action in space, and if deterrence fails, be ready to fight and win…