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| Science & Technology |
| American satellite war against Russia will be stopped by ‘product 293’ |
| 2023-10-17 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Moshkin and Oleg Krivoshapov [REGNUM] A “legitimate target” for Russia’s retaliatory strike could be foreign dual-use artificial earth satellites—formally civilian devices that are used by the West in armed conflicts. This was stated on October 16 by the director of the department for nonproliferation and arms control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Ermakov. Back in April last year, the United States recognized the fact of full-scale provision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with information from American space reconnaissance. Cooperation was established even before the start of the Russian special operation. Spacecraft are, by default, dual-use products. “On the one hand, the satellite can distribute the Internet, on the other hand, the military can receive a report on the enemy’s locations. There is a technology for reprogramming, redirection to different orbits and much more,” explained the head of the Space Technologies consortium, Yulia Arkhipova, to IA Regnum. There are enough examples of “constructive interaction” between American space “satellites” and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For example, in June last year, the Worldview-1 commercial satellite from Maxar Technologies photographed the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Refinery. Three days later, the enterprise, the largest supplier of petroleum products in southern Russia, was attacked by Ukrainian drones. A little later, at the beginning of July, information appeared that the GeoEye-1 commercial satellite of the same company could take pictures of Belgorod three days before the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the city. A more recent example: in September, satellites of the same Maxar Technologies photographed Sevastopol twice . On September 19, the city was photographed by WorldView-3, and on September 20 by WorldView-2. “At the time of launch, the satellites had the highest spatial resolution of any commercial satellite, allowing for highly detailed images,” the company assured. On September 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Sevastopol . Air defense systems shot down five missiles, the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged, and one serviceman went missing. Finally, let us mention the widespread use - until very recently - of the Starlink satellite system in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yes, Elon Musk made several “peace-loving” statements in response to accusations of “treason” - deliberately shutting down the Starlink network near Crimea, which made Ukrainian attacks more difficult. But nevertheless, on September 13, the same Musk announced his readiness to transfer to the Pentagon full control over part of the Starlink networks, which could be involved in the conflict in Ukraine. Casus belli limited validity Without the support of GPS satellite communications, American high-precision weapons, which are used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against Russian troops, will not be able to work, Alexey Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO, told IA Regnum . For example, JDAM smart bombs are guided using satellite GPS. The same applies to the HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. The Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya , drew the attention of the whole world back in December 2022 to the fact that the guidance of the Haymars missiles to the target is “ carried out with the help of American military satellites, and US military personnel on the ground coordinate satellite and intelligence information.” The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated earlier, last summer , that “the United States, as part of military assistance, provides Ukraine ... with data not only from military, but also from civilian and private satellites.” The United States is openly ignoring the provisions of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Vladimir Ermakov, director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for nonproliferation issues, has now emphasized. But it is one thing to state a fact and another thing to point to American and other Western “satellites” as legitimate targets for Russian weapons. An attack in the space sphere may well become a casus belli, that is, a reason to declare war, Dmitry Kornev , an expert on weapons and military equipment and founder of the Military Russia portal, told IA Regnum . And even in the absence of direct evidence indicating the fact of a “Russian attack,” this will not remove the threat of US retaliatory actions. The fact that the United States is already actually “waging war” against Russia, including by supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with data from satellites, was stated a month ago by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov . The West is waging an escalating “proxy war,” and further developments may make military operations in low-Earth orbit inevitable, notes Yulia Arkhipova. The presence of nuclear weapons on both sides - despite all the “accidents belli” - still protects against a frontal collision between Russia and the United States. But targeted liquidations of Russian or American satellites themselves are quite possible. "Petrel" spreads its wings “Technologies today make it possible to identify exactly the satellite that can be used for military purposes,” notes Arkhipova. “It is technically possible to shoot down any artificial Earth satellite,” agrees Kornev. “This is a problem that was solved in the early 1960s.” Moreover, the previously adopted declarations, which until now regulated the use of space, including low-Earth orbit, do not actually work these days, adds Arkhipova. Earlier , Regnum news agency reported in detail that the United States is developing modern weapons designed to destroy Russian and Chinese satellites. Russia also theoretically has the ability to minimize the American satellite threat. True, as Kornev believes, large-scale “elimination of the threat” is a rather expensive project. “To completely disrupt the GPS navigation system, we will have to spend another defense budget on an anti-satellite program ,” the expert believes. Kornev, at the same time, recalled the promising program to develop the Nudol ground-based anti-satellite system . “We are talking about a missile launched from a ground launcher,” explained the military analyst. “There is a sensational program “Burevestnik”, about the details of which very little is actually known, since the work on it is strictly classified. All these are fire destruction complexes. Research and development are underway on these programs,” the expert said. The Burevestnik aviation missile system, prosaically called “product 293,” has been under development for at least the last ten years. Then the Air Force command announced that work had resumed on an anti-satellite system based on the MiG-31 interceptor. Actually, the “product” itself is a solid-fuel rocket for space purposes, which is launched from an airplane. These programs will most likely soon enter a new stage of their life cycle, admits Kornev. “At the same time, we must understand that to deploy such systems and use them, it is not enough to create this complex,” he says. — It is necessary to create a complex of space control means in the interests of anti-satellite defense. These should be special radars, special optical stations, special laser locators. They must be located on the territory of the country. And they don't just have to be created. They must be located, connected to a single network, and brought to the command post. A special command must be created within the aerospace forces.” At the same time, the anti-satellite system being created in Russia will have a variety of destruction systems - not only fire, but also functional. “Functional means that we don’t have to shoot down the satellite, we need it to stop working, ” explains Kornev. - It can be “blinded” or “stunned”, eliminating fire damage. For example, the Peresvet laser functional destruction complex, which is already undergoing trial operation in the Strategic Missile Forces, does not shoot down satellites with a laser; it is not yet possible to shoot down an object from the ground with a laser.” But Peresvet blinds optical surveillance systems, the expert explained. “This is the most “living” complex - it was created, deployed for trial operation at several bases of the strategic missile forces, but has not yet been fully adopted,” the expert said. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #9 What happened to preparations A thru G?" "We found preparation H worked best. On the whole..." |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-10-17 20:08 |
| #8 ‘product 293’ a/k/a "Project Shimmer." |
| Posted by: Anomalous Sources 2023-10-17 20:05 |
| #7 |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2023-10-17 14:34 |
| #6 For inquiring minds: ASM-135 |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-10-17 14:01 |
| #5 More than a million satellites could soon be orbiting our planet - and scientists fear 'mega constellations' could cause light pollution and space crashes |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-10-17 13:59 |
| #4 IIRC, the ASM-135 made an appearance in Red Storm Rising. Pulled out of mothballs I think the story went. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-10-17 09:37 |
| #3 So they're catching up to the old ASM-135 that the US air force retired in 1988. They actually used it once, on a defunct solar winds satellite. Worked. Made a huge debris field, though. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-10-17 09:08 |
| #2 Ergo, Musk saturation launches. Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-10-17 08:19 |
| #1 Wunderbar! |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-10-17 02:31 |