Russian President Vladimir «Putin may not attack US or NATO satellites, but he is certainly quietly preparing the battlefield in case he needs to». This opinion was expressed by military expert Brandon J. Weichert in an article for The National Interest.
One of the Russian systems is "causing severe stomach upset among strategists in the Pentagon."
This is the latest satellite in the «Cosmos» series, which is located near a secret US government satellite in near-Earth orbit.
The US fears that the Russians may use it to stage a space "Pearl Harbor."
The «Cosmos-2588» satellite was launched on May 23 and placed into a coplanar (located in the same plane) orbit with USA-338 — a spy satellite of the US National Reconnaissance Office.
The expert emphasized that Russia does not disclose the capabilities of «Cosmos-2588». However, it is believed that it may contain kinetic weapons.
According to Weichert, a potential Russian attack on US satellites would provide «Moscow with a huge window of opportunity in which the American military would be immobilized.» Thus, the Russian military will be able to conduct any operations.
And what is Washington doing in response to this threat? Not much yet.
Read more on the topic:
Putin announced the readiness of the national project «Cosmos»
«Cosmos-2505»: Roscosmos spoke about a satellite with capsule delivery of images
Russia will deploy more than 100 satellites in space to control drones