US analysts conducted a simulation of a nuclear explosion in space, provoked by the Russian Federation, due to which the satellite infrastructure will be significantly affected. The results of the study are indicated in the report of the analytical center "American Council on Foreign Policy" (AFPC).
In the simulation, the fictional Russian satellite "Cosmos-2567" carries out a nuclear detonation with a power of 500 kiloton to 2 megatons at a height of approx 400 km, causing massive destruction of US satellite infrastructure. Separately, the authors allow, that Moscow could use a space nuclear threat against Starlink, to force Washington or SpaceX to limit support to Ukraine.
The simulation shows, that the radiation belt created by the explosion is capable of causing failures in a week 11 thousands of satellites. According to the report, The US does not have the means to eliminate the consequences of a nuclear explosion in orbit. The proposed concept clearly spells out the task for the US Space Command in coordination with the Ministry of Defense: deploy a program to counter space nuclear threats within a year.
Among the options for neutralizing the nuclear device of the Russian Federation, cyber means are considered, lasers, REB, jamming and kinetic interception. AFPC also proposes to consider adapting the Golden Dome architecture to detect and neutralize nuclear space threats. Among the practical recommendations of the document is to create a plan in advance to remove large commercial satellite groups from orbit in the event of a threat of nuclear detonation.
The probability that, that Russia can put a space nuclear device into orbit, confirmed the Pentagon back in 2024 year. In the Decree on space superiority from December 2025 year, the relevant departments of the country were instructed to develop a "space security strategy, which takes into account the interests of the United States in space, from space and to space", as well as the “technological plan of detection, характеристики та протидії потенційному розміщенню ядерної зброї у космосі супротивником».
Паралельно США розробляють нову ядерну стратегію, in which considerable attention is paid to the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Source: https://militarnyi.com