The United States has briefed Congress and its allies in Europe on Russian advances in a new, space-based nuclear weapon designed to threaten America’s sprawling satellite network, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter.
Such a satellite weapon, if deployed, could disrupt civilian communications, space surveillance, and military command and control operations by the United States and its allies. At present, the United States does not have the capability to counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official said.
The officials said the new information, which they did not describe in detail, raised serious questions about whether Russia was preparing to abandon the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans all orbital nuclear weapons. But because Russia does not appear close to developing the weapon, they said, it is not considered an urgent threat.
The information was released, in part, in a secret announcement Wednesday by Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He called on the Biden administration to declassify the information without saying specifically what it was.
ABC News reported earlier that the intelligence had to do with Russian space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapons. Current and former officials said the launch of the anti-satellite did not appear imminent, but that there was a limited amount of time, which they did not specify, to prevent its deployment.
Concerns about placing nuclear weapons in space date back 50 years. The United States experimented with versions of the technology but never deployed it. Russia has been developing its space capabilities for decades.
US military officials have warned that both Russia and China are moving towards greater militarization of space, with all three superpowers working on ways to blindside the others.
A report released last year highlighted Russia’s development of weapons to blind other satellites, but noted that Russia had refrained from using the full range of anti-satellite capabilities it had developed.
Developing a nuclear weapon in space would be a major advance in Russian technology and a potentially dramatic escalation. The Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons in space, but Russia has withdrawn from many Cold War arms control treaties, seeing them as a limitation on its most important source of military power.
Mr. Turner’s statement, and his decision to share the information with others in Congress, caused consternation in Washington on Wednesday about what the information was.
But the statement angered White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of intelligence on Russia. While Mr. Turner has been an ally of the White House on aid to Ukraine, his remarks on Wednesday became the latest flashpoint in strained relations between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.
The information developed in recent days and, while significant, officials said it was not some kind of warning of any imminent threat. But Mr Turner urged his release.
“I am asking President Biden to declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the administration and our allies can openly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat,” Mr. Turner.
His committee made the unorthodox move of voting Monday to make the information available to all members of Congress — a step that worried some officials because it is unclear in what context, if any, the information in its possession was presented. commission. In a memo to lawmakers, the House Intelligence Committee said the information concerned “a destabilizing foreign military capability.”
Capitol Hill is embroiled in a bitter political standoff over whether the United States should mobilize resources to counter Russian threats in Ukraine, a case that most Democrats and some Republicans — including Mr. Turner — argue is necessary. to protect US national security interests. But a majority of House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, are rejecting calls to put the Senate-approved $60.1 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine to a vote.
Former President Donald J. Trump attacked the Republican opposition, saying over the weekend that he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to any NATO country that hasn’t spent enough money on its own defense.
Other officials said Mr. Turner made more of the new information than he would normally expect, perhaps to build pressure to push the House to accept the request for additional funding for Ukraine that the Senate approved this week.
That measure, which provides military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, faces an uncertain outlook in the House. While many Republicans oppose the additional funding, Mr. Turner is an outspoken advocate of more aid to Ukraine and recently visited Kiev, the capital.
Shortly after Mr. Turner’s announcement, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, entered the White House press room to discuss the importance of continued funding for Ukraine’s military.
But Mr. Sullivan declined to answer a reporter’s question about the substance of Mr. Turner’s announcement, saying only that he was to meet with the president on Thursday.
“We have scheduled a briefing for House members of the Gang of Eight tomorrow,” Mr. Sullivan said, referring to a group of congressional leaders from both parties. “That was in the books. So I’m a little surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today before a meeting on the books to go sit down with him tomorrow with the intelligence and defense professionals.”
Representative Jim Himes, D-Connecticut and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the issue was “serious” and that Mr. Turner was right to focus on it. But he added that the threat “isn’t going to ruin your Thursday.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said in a joint statement that the Senate Intelligence Committee had been following the matter from the beginning and was discussing a response with the Biden administration. But lawmakers said releasing information about the classified information could reveal the collection methods.
At the White House, when Mr. Sullivan was asked if he could tell Americans there was nothing to worry about, he replied that it was “impossible to answer with a straight ‘yes’.”
“Americans understand that there are a number of threats and challenges in the world that we deal with every day, and those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors,” Mr. Sullivan said. “And we have to fight them, and we have to deal with them in a way that ensures the absolute safety of the American people. I am confident that President Biden, with the decisions he makes, will ensure the security of the American people in the future.”
Mr Turner declined to answer questions on Wednesday. Jason Crowe, Democrat of Colorado, said the new intelligence agency was one of several “flying threats” facing the United States.
“This is something that requires our attention,” Mr Crowe said. “The’re is no doubt. It’s not an immediate crisis, but definitely something we have to be very serious about.”
Mr Johnson, apparently trying to spread calm after Mr Turner’s announcement, said there was “no need for public alarm”.
“We will work together to address this issue,” he said.
The Outer Space Treaty was one of the first major arms control treaties negotiated by the United States and the Soviet Union, and one of the last to remain in force.
If Russia were to pull out of the space treaty and let the New START treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons expire in February 2026 — as seems likely — it could spark a new arms race the likes of which has not been seen since its depths. Cold War.
“Ending the Outer Space Treaty could open the door for other countries to put nuclear weapons in space as well,” said Steven Andreasen, a nuclear expert at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. “Once you have orbital nuclear weapons, you can use them for more than taking out satellites.”
Erica L. Green, Luke Broadwater and Glenn Thrush contributed reporting from Washington.