Moscow: Russia’s test of anti-satellite missile stunned Pentagon
Tests of Russia's latest direct ascent anti-satellite missile (DA-ASAT) have made the Pentagon and the White House officials nervous, said Russian military columnist Viktor Baranets in a comment for theRussian news outlet GosNovosti.
The expert noted that the U.S. Air Force Space Command were shocked by the tests of direct ascent anti-satellite missile, which Russia carried out on April 15.
“Russia’s [anti-satellite] test provides yet another example that the threats to US and allied space systems are real, serious, and growing,” said John Raymond, the US Space Force's first Chief of Space Operations.
Baranets stressed that the United States was well aware that in the early 2010s Russia began to work on the developing of a complex of anti-missile and anti-ballistic missile defense system Nudol with a missile 14A042.
Baranets said that the Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported on the tests of this system, but Washington has started worrying about it only now. The expert notes that the United States has not abandoned the idea of militarization of space, despite many appeals from Moscow.
"And now, when it became clear to the Americans that Russia has got an effective "counter-weapon", the U.S. space command has raised concerns and, as usual, screamed about the Russian threat. Their goal is clear - we need to knock out more money for new military-space programs," Baranets concluded.