The United States has briefed Congress and its allies in Europe about Russian advances on a new space nuclear weapon designed to threaten America’s vast satellite network, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter.
Such a satellite-destroying weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space, and military command and control operations conducted by the United States and its allies. At the moment, the United States does not have the capacity to counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official said.
Officials said the new intelligence, which they did not describe in detail, raised serious questions about whether Russia was preparing to abandon the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans all orbital nuclear weapons. But because Russia does not appear to be about to deploy the weapon, they said, it is not considered an urgent threat.
The intelligence was made public, in part, in a cryptic announcement Wednesday by Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He called on the Biden administration to declassify the information without saying precisely what it was.
ABC News reported earlier that the intelligence related to Russian space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapons. Current and former officials said the launch of the antisatellite did not appear imminent, but that there was a limited window of time, which they did not define, to prevent its deployment.
Concerns about placing nuclear weapons in space date back 50 years; it was even a subtheme of “Star Trek” episodes in the late 1960s, just as the treaty was coming into force. The United States has experimented with several versions of this technology but has never deployed them. Russia has been developing its space capabilities for decades.
U.S. military officials have warned that Russia and China are moving toward greater militarization of space, as the three superpowers work on ways to blindside others.
A report last year highlighted Russia’s development of weapons to blind other satellites, but noted that Russia had refrained from using the full range of anti-satellite capabilities it had developed.
Deploying a nuclear weapon in space would be a significant advance for Russian technology and a potentially dramatic escalation. The Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons in space, but Russia withdrew from many Cold War arms control treaties, viewing them as a restriction on its most important source of military power. .
Mr. Turner’s statement and his decision to share the information with other members of Congress sent Washington into turmoil Wednesday over the nature of the intelligence.
But the statement infuriated White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia. While Mr. Turner has been a White House ally on aid to Ukraine, his remarks on Wednesday became the latest flashpoint in tense relations between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.
The intelligence was developed in recent days and, while important, officials said it was not a stark warning of an imminent threat. But Mr. Turner requested its publication.
“I am calling on President Biden to declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat,” Turner said.
His committee took the unorthodox step of voting Monday to make the information available to all members of Congress — a move that has alarmed some officials because it is unclear in what context, if any, the intelligence in possession of the panel were presented. In a memo to lawmakers, the House Intelligence Committee said the intelligence related to a “destabilizing foreign military capability.”
Capitol Hill is mired in a bitter political impasse over whether the United States should mobilize resources to counter Russian threats against Ukraine, a cause that most Democrats and some Republicans — including Mr. Turner — asserted as essential to protecting the national security interests of the United States. But a majority of Republican House members, including Speaker Mike Johnson, reject calls to bring the Senate-passed $60.1 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine to a House vote.
Former President Donald J. Trump encouraged Republican opposition, saying over the weekend that he would encourage Russia to “do whatever it wants” to any NATO country that did not spend enough money for his own defense.
Other officials said Mr. Turner was exploiting the new intelligence more than might have been expected, perhaps to create pressure for the House to agree to the request for more funding for Ukraine than the Senate. adopted this week.
The measure, which provides military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, faces uncertain prospects in the House. While many Republicans oppose additional funding, Mr. Turner is a strong advocate of more aid to Ukraine and recently visited Kiev, the capital.
Shortly after Mr. Turner’s announcement, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, entered the White House press room to discuss the importance of continued funding of Ukraine’s military.
But Mr. Sullivan declined to answer a reporter’s questions about the content of Mr. Turner’s announcement, saying only that he was scheduled to meet with the president on Thursday.
“We have a briefing scheduled for members of the Gang of Eight in the House tomorrow,” Mr. Sullivan said, referring to a group of congressional leaders from both parties. “It’s in the books. So I’m a little surprised that Congressman Turner spoke out publicly today ahead of a scheduled meeting for me to sit down with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow.
Representative Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the problem was “serious” and that Mr. Turner was right to focus on it. But he added that the threat was “not going to ruin your Thursday.”
Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said in a joint statement that the Senate Intelligence Committee has been following the issue from the beginning and discussing a response with the Biden administration. But lawmakers said releasing intelligence information could reveal collection methods.
At the White House, when Mr. Sullivan was asked if he could tell Americans there was nothing to worry about, he said it was “impossible to say ‘yes’.” ” direct “.
“Americans understand that there are a range of threats and challenges around the world that we face every day, and those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors,” Mr. Sullivan said. “And we must confront them, and we must confront them in a way that ensures the ultimate security of the American people.” I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions he makes, will keep the American people safe in the future.
Mr Turner declined to answer questions on Wednesday. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, said the new intelligence was one of many “volatile threats” facing the United States.
“This is something that needs our attention,” Mr. Crow said. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s not an immediate crisis, but it’s certainly something we need to take very seriously.”
Mr Johnson, apparently trying to sow calm after Mr Turner’s announcement, said there was “no need to alarm the public”.
“We will work together to resolve this problem,” he said.
The Outer Space Treaty was one of the first major arms control treaties negotiated between the United States and the Soviet Union, and one of the last still in force.
If Russia leaves the space treaty and lets the New START treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons expire in February 2026 – as seems likely – it could trigger a new arms race, of a kind not seen since the depths of the Cold War .
“Ending the Space Treaty could also open the floodgates for other countries to put nuclear weapons in space as well,” said Steven Andreasen, a nuclear expert at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. “Once you have orbital nuclear weapons, you can use them for things other than destroying satellites.”
Erica L. Green, Luke Broadwater And Glenn Thrush contributed reporting from Washington.
