Vladimir Putin’s ‘Space Pearl Harbour’ plot to nuke satellites could wipe out 80% of global tech, killing phone signals and GPS, warns a top US military chief
Vladimir Putin is plotting to blast nuclear weapons into orbit to spark global chaos by blowing up satellites, a top US military chief has warned. It follows claims the terrifying scheme by the Russian President could result in a catastrophic “space Pearl Harbour.”
Experts fear that if the Kremlin detonates a nuke in low orbit, it would incinerate more than 80% of satellites currently circling the Earth. A strike of that magnitude would wipe out over 10,000 satellites, delivering a hammer blow to global military intelligence.
But the fallout for people on the ground would be just as bleak, potentially killing off the internet, mobile phone signals and GPS for huge swathes of the planet.
General Stephen Whiting, head of US Space Command, told The Times that American officials are “very concerned” about Moscow’s cosmic ambitions. He pointed out that Russia is already “recklessly” jamming signals in Ukraine “in a way that’s affecting civil aviation in eastern Europe and across southern Europe.”
Whiting warned that nukes in the stars would pose a direct threat to the UK, particularly as Britain’s spend on space defence remains low. He urged the government to splash more cash on defending against “cosmic warfare,” cautioning that the next major conflict will “likely be a war that starts in space.”
It follows reports from Nato intelligence that Moscow is building a “shrapnel cloud” weapon specifically designed to take down Elon Musk’s Starlink system. The “zone-effect” missiles are designed to spray high-density pellets into the paths of the Tesla tycoon’s satellites – the vital tech that has kept Ukraine connected during the invasion.
Musk’s low-orbiting army has been the backbone of Ukraine’s resistance for four years, allowing troops to communicate on the battlefield and target Putin’s forces with precision.
The Russian tyrant has previously bragged about his terrifying new arsenal of nukes, claiming the technology could even help his country seize the moon. Putin boasted in November that the tech behind his nuclear-armed cruise missiles and super torpedoes could be repurposed for lunar missions and deep-space travel.
It comes after Russia issued a direct warning to attack targets within the UK. Putin’s defence ministry released locations of what it claims are manufacturing sites supplying the Ukrainian military with equipment used to strike Russian territory.
Three of the locations are in London, Leicester and Suffolk. Additional sites are across several European nations.
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