Officials say ‘space-based’ weapon under development but not yet deployed is not immediate threat to anyone’s safety

The White House has confirmed that it is monitoring a new Russian anti-satellite weapon which it said is being developed but not yet deployed, calling it “troubling” but not an immediate threat to anyone’s safety.

The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, would not directly confirm or deny reports that the new Russian weapon was nuclear, but he did say it was “space-based” and that it violated the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment in space of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.

Kirby was briefing reporters at the White House amid a wave of speculation following cryptic comments about the new threat by the Republican chair of the House intelligence committee, Mike Turner.

  • @[email protected]
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    10 months ago

    Isn’t this the entire purpose of spaceforce? Surely if they have any job at all it’s protecting orbital assets and monitoring threats to same, right?

    • @[email protected]
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      510 months ago

      It is entirely their purpose, but you will never know about it publicly. Everything related to space is classified to the highest degree at this point in time.

  • BiggestBulb
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    1110 months ago

    I feel like every single year just gets worse than the last. Very possible it could be as simple as more widespread social media, but 2015 seemed much less scary.

    • Match!!
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      510 months ago

      We’re definitely past peak social media, for that matter, considering we’re out here on the edges of the fediverse

  • @gmtom
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    910 months ago

    Plenty of people talk about the disastrous long term affects of a nuclear war, or even a war with chemical weapons, but not enough attention os given to the disastrous possibility of a “conventional war” where one or both sides try to take out satellite communications or observation sats, it would really only take a handful to start the chain reaction that seals us in this tomb of a planet forever while we destroy the environment and make it inhospitable for ourselves.

  • @dhork
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    10 months ago

    Wait, so even the “Jewish Space Lasers” bit was all just projection?

    • @ghostdoggtv
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      110 months ago

      Not projection but deflection. Greene has always behaved like a Russian asset.

  • SteefLem
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    -110 months ago

    Someone needs more money i guess