Is THIS the nuke Putin will launch into space amid fears Vlad’s planning to fire satellite-destroying ‘Cosmos 2543’

A BOMBSHELL warning from US intelligence suggests Russia could be planning to launch a satellite-destroying weapon into space.

An anti-satellite weapon – like Russia’s Cosmos 2543 – ejects projectiles into space at incredible speed which could destroy crucial Western kit orbiting the Earth.

The Cosmos 2543 launched by a Russian Soyuz-2 rocket in 2020

Getty

Vladimir Putin’s cronies have rubbished claims that Russia is preparing to launch a new space weapon[/caption]

Several years ago Russia test-launched the Cosmos spacecraft into space – unsettling Western officials who saw the danger it posed.

On July 15 2020, the Cosmos 2543 was fired from its mothership – the Cosmos 2542, and launched a projectile object into the ether at an incredible 400mph.

The Russian spacecraft was also spotted skulking around the Pentagon’s spy satellite earlier that very same year.

A congressional aide yesterday said he thinks the weapon warned about in Wednesday’s intelligence brief could be a Russian anti-satellite device like the Cosmos 2543.

If the reports warning refers to the same dangerous kit – it could pose a serious threat to the West as crucial satellites orbiting in space gather billions of data bytes every hour.

Vital communication networks and military systems responsible for tracking around planet Earth would be compromised.

It would also put power grids and banking systems at risk – creating chaos.

And Vlad’s foreign ministry has made disturbing threats in the past about attacking Western satellites in space.

President Joe Biden dubbed the threat “serious” and the White House has kept a lid on the intelligence to prevent widespread panic.

But officials have been tracking the “national security threat” amid rising global tensions and fears of a third world war off the back of Russia’s gruelling war in Ukraine.

Russia has also accused the West of using key space kit to support Ukraine in combat strikes – and in tracking their troops.

Thanks to secrecy shrouding Russian weapons – it is not entirely clear whether the projectiles shot out of Cosmos 2543 would be nuclear missiles.

Dr Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told The Telegraph: “If Russia has deployed nuclear weapons in orbit that would be a deliberate and direct violation of the 1967 outer space treaty by Moscow.

“The outer space treaty is a cornerstone of space stability, and this would be a grave setback for international arms control.”

Russia has claimed the spacecraft is just an observer satellite – but its stalking of the US spy satellite in 2020 disturbed intelligence chiefs.

America dubbed it a space weapons test launch – rubbishing claims that the Russian space tech was simply “inspecting” other satellites.

General John Raymond, chief of space operations for the US Space Force, said at the time: “We view this behavior as unusual and disturbing.

“It has the potential to create a dangerous situation in space.”

Kremlin crony Sergei Ryabkov brushed yesterday’s reports away as “malicious fabrication” and Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it “another trick” by the White House.

In 2020 Russia’s space agency ROSCOSMOS confirmed the satellite was launched by a Soyuz-2 rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, a sprawling launch site some 500 miles north of Moscow.

But they insisted it was simply “inspecting one of the national satellites from a close distance using special equipment”.

The prospect of conflict in space is becoming more and more likely as Russia and China both have space weapons that would seriously harm us if used in response to rising global tensions.

Putin’s nuclear arsenal is also a growing concern for the West, as Russia possesses the most nuclear warheads in the world.

As Nato prepares for a potential global war sparked in part by Mad Vlad’s thirst for world domination – Russia continues to conduct nuclear missile exercises that spark fear around the globe.

And there’s nothing to suggest that his nuclear arsenal could not be combined with space weapons to amplify the weapons of mass destruction.

Just last year they tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in northern Russia which would cause a blast 100 times more powerful than Hiroshima.

Republican Mike Turner, the head of the House intelligence committee, revealed the worrying new development on Wednesday – but didn’t say it was about nukes.

But he called on Biden to share the information with the public and other sources described it as “very concerning and very sensitive”, reports ABC.

The White House’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing this week: “Americans understand that there are a range of threats and challenges in the world that we are dealing with every single day.

“I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he is taking, is going to ensure the security of the American people.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson added: “We are going to work together to address this matter, as we do all sensitive matters that are classified.

Newsflash

Russia launched a nuke missile capable of a blast 100 times more powerful than Hiroshima in a chilling test last year[/caption]

Russia has more nuclear warheads than any other country in the world – increasing fears about any potential new weapon

Many crucial Western satellites orbit Earth gathering important data

AP

Biden’s White House kept the initial intelligence quiet so as not to spark mass panic[/caption]