Scolese said this week it’s likely Russia will employ jamming and spoofing capabilities to some extent – though he noted it’s not clear how far it will go.
“I think it’s fair to assume that to the extent that they can and to the extent that they feel it won’t extend the conflict out of their control, that they will extend it into space,” he said. “You can imagine they’re already doing GPS jamming, for example, and doing things against Ukraine.”
Kinetic weapons
As for kinetic counterspace capabilities, Russia’s most recent demonstration of a direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon in November created an estimated 1,500 pieces of debris. Speaking at the NSSA conference Feb. 23, Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, head of the Space Force’s acquisition command, said actions like the recent ASAT test reinforce Russia’s interest in denying space access to adversaries.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond has on multiple occasions referred to Russia’s July 2020 test of what he calls a “nesting doll” capability. The test — which CSIS said in its report was more sophisticated than some previous ASAT demonstrations — involved a Cosmos 2542 satellite that contained a smaller Cosmos 2543 space vehicle inside of it. During the 2020 test, the smaller satellite fired a projectile near another Russian satellite.
“This is further evidence of Russia’s continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin’s published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold U.S. and allied space assets at risk,” Raymond said at the time.
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CSIS notes in its report that Cosmos 2543 was very active after being released from its “mother satellite.”
“Before firing the projectile in July 2020, the inspector satellite was constantly changing its orbit to synchronize with other Russian satellites,” the report states. “This is out of the ordinary for most satellites, which rarely maneuver in this way.”
While not an on-orbit capability, Russia has also developed an aircraft called the Beriev A-60, which detects and tracks satellites with the intent of aiming laser beams at them, according to the SWF report. The aircraft has flown multiple times since 2010, and the country is reportedly installing a laser on it.
SPACECOM Support
U.S. Space Command head Gen. James Dickinson said this week that space units are currently playing a supporting role to U.S. European Command to ensure it has “the space effects necessary to respond and characterize the situation in Ukraine.