Republican Warns Russian Space Weapon Could Damage U.S. Economy And Military

(ConservativeSense.com) – A Republican lawmaker has warned that a Russian “space weapon” could destroy America’s military and economy. Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, called Russian development of a weapon that would destroy satellites a “weapon of mass destruction” that, if detonated, would take out American GPS systems and “blind the military.”

News of the weapon became public when House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Turner said he had obtained information highlighting a serious security threat to the United States. Russia had developed a nuclear anti-satellite capability that would send an energy wave through space capable of disabling satellites that provide internet access and underpin crucial infrastructure in the US and beyond.

The Biden administration responded to Rep. Turner and sought to reassure the American public by stating that the weapon was not complete or deployed. President Biden said there is “no nuclear threat to the people of America or anywhere else in the world with what Russia is doing at the moment.”

The US is not alone in expressing concerns, however. Major General Michael Traut, Germany’s military Space Command commander, has also spoken out. Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Mr. Traut addressed the weapon and admitted that, at present, he has more questions than answers. He warned, however, that if such a weapon were used, it would be “more or less the end” of space communications.

Nevertheless, the Major General went on to offer some reassurance and said the deployment of such a weapon would be catastrophic for everyone, including Russia.

Ludwig Möller, the director of the European Space Policy Institute, agreed, adding that such a move would knock out everything from banking to energy and is not in any country’s interests.

Nations, including the US, already have the capacity to take out satellites, but due to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, countries are prohibited from sending anything into space capable of carrying out mass destruction.