EMP Attack Consequences Could Be Widespread

A bombshell report claims Russia plans to place a nuclear weapon in space, an alarming development that could increase the risk of the U.S. electric grid being wiped out in an electromagnetic pulse attack, experts say.

Sources told ABC News that an unusually cryptic statement made Wednesday by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, in which he said the committee had made available to all members of Congress information about an unspecified "serious national security threat," had to do with Russia wanting to place a nuclear weapon in space.

The weapon wouldn't be used against terrestrial targets but rather would be intended for use against satellites, ABC reported.

But while anti-satellite capability can essentially render null a superpower's nuclear arsenal by taking out communications capabilities, an EMP attack — which results in a burst of electromagnetic energy and is designed to overload electric circuits and relays — could short-circuit the country's entire grid.

Newsmax insider and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said it is possible that Russia's "weaponization of space" could involve a directed energy weapon or using a hypersonic rocket to put a satellite or object in space that is a nuclear device and when deployed could have the same effect as an EMP burst.

"These are capabilities we should be very concerned about," he said. "This is a danger to us, and we need to understand how severe it is."

William Forstchen, a leading EMP expert, history professor, and author, recently told Newsmax that the detonation of a single small nuclear weapon 200 miles above the U.S. could short-circuit the entire grid and send the country into utter chaos.

"EMP is potentially the worst possible threat to the U.S. at this time," he said.

Because Americans are "so used to electricity" and assume that it will always be there to use, Forstchen said an EMP attack that cripples the grid would cause immediate panic.

"Everything is produced by electricity," he said. "It is how we get our water."

Without electricity, Forstchen said, Americans would soon have to ask themselves what they would be "willing to do" to get water after just three or four days without it.

He noted that a typical town has about 20 days of food on hand, including frozen goods that would immediately begin to thaw and melt once the electricity is cut.

The existence of EMPs and their potential consequences were confirmed with the detonation of the first nuclear bomb test in 1945. Following an EMP strike, current models indicate that in a span of just one year, anywhere from 80% to 90% of the population could be lost in the aftermath of an EMP attack.

Once the grid goes offline, he said, it could take years before the damaged systems are restored.

"EMP is permanent," he said.