Space-based nuclear ASAT, declassified
Washington and London declassify intelligence indicating Russian development of a space-based nuclear ASAT capability. The treaty regime built in 1967 to prevent precisely this is, on paper, still in force.
A working catalogue entry, kept current. Each paragraph is drawn from the publicly documented record.
In February 2024 the United States and the United Kingdom take the unusual step of declassifying intelligence indicating that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear ASAT capability — a weapon that, if detonated in orbit, would render large portions of low Earth orbit unusable for years through the immediate kill of unhardened satellites and the longer-term radiation environment.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, remains, on paper, in force. The decision to declassify is itself a sovereignty act: by going public, Washington and London force every other operator in low Earth orbit to plan for a contingency the treaty was supposed to make planning unnecessary.
Each entry is publicly documented. Have a correction or a stronger source? Send it to the editorial team via the contact form.
