Russia Held Successful Flight Test for Anti-Satellite Missile

Russia held a successful flight test of an anti-satellite missile that has the capability of shooting down orbiting satellites, according to American defense officials.

The Washington Free Beacon U.S. intelligence satellites monitored the successful launch from a test site 500 miles north of Moscow.

The Nudol direct-ascent anti-satellite missile was also successfully tested in November 2015, the Free Beacon said.

The missile indicated a Russian interest in increasing its capabilities in outer space, according to Air Force Lt. Gen. David J. Buck, who explained at a House of Representatives hearing in March that "Russia views U.S. dependency on space as an exploitative vulnerability."

Former Pentagon official Mark Schneider said that military leaders regard such missiles as a serious threat. In the Free Beacon report, Schneider mentioned that, "The loss of GPS guidance due to attack would take out a substantial part of our precision weapons' deliverance capability and essentially all of our standoff capability."

Russian military analyst Pavel Podvig explained that it's possible Russia does not have a plan for the anti-satellite missile in place. "I wouldn't be surprised if the system is being developed just because it can be developed."

The Free Beacon noted that the Air Force Space Command hosted a yearly war game exercise the day after Russia's test launch. Schriever Wargame 2016 was held near Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. The exercise with the U.S. and several European allies simulated cyber attacks, missile activity, and orbiting satellite-killing robots.

"We've got to, and feel like we need to, prepare for a crisis or a conflict that might extend in the space domain," Air Force Col. Mike Angle said. 

The namesake for the war games, Schriever Air Force base in Colorado, is the home of a joint operations center for fighting in space, according to National Defense magazine.

"It is now clear due to the behavior of many actual and potential antagonists and enemies of the United States that space isn't a sanctuary. It has to be the province of warfighters and not just engineers," Col. DeAnna Burt, commander of the Air Force's 50th Space Wing, told the magazine.

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