![]() ![]() In a conflict confusion and misperception could rapidly become lethal. Thus, we now have a situation in which space military assets have both nuclear and conventional roles. States have a clear reason for targeting enemy satellites which support conventional warfare, as those satellites enable the most lethal part of the kill chain, the communications and recon networks that link targets with shooters. Indeed, the expansion of the role of satellites in conventional warfare has complicated the prospect of space warfare. Satellites could reconnoiter enemy positions and, more importantly, provide communications for friendly forces. It was only later that the relevance of satellites for conventional warfare became clear. Consequently, their destruction might lead to hesitation or delay in performing a nuclear launch order. They make it possible to distribute an order from the chief of government to the nuclear delivery systems themselves. Thus, the nuclear command and control satellites are critical to the maintenance of nuclear deterrence. ![]() Attacks on the monitoring system could easily be read as an attempt to blind an opponent in preparation for general war, and could themselves incur nuclear retaliation. Nuclear deterrence requires awareness that an attack is underway. As Acton and MacDonald point out, nuclear command and control satellites are the connective tissue of nuclear deterrence, assuring countries that they’re not being attacked and that they’ll be able to respond quickly if they are.įor a long time, these strategic early-warning satellites were akin to a center of gravity in ICBM warfare. James Acton and Thomas Macdonald drew attention to this problem in a recent article at Inside Defense. But the test also highlighted a less visible danger attacks on nuclear command and control satellites could rapidly produce an extremely dangerous escalatory situation in a war between nuclear powers. Debris from explosions could make some earth orbits remarkably risky to use for both civilian and military purposes. The recent Russian anti-satellite test didn’t tell the world anything new, but it did reaffirm the peril posed by warfare in space. China, Russia, and the United States should settle on some rules of the road with respect to space warfare, and they should do it sooner rather than later. ![]()
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