The commander of the German military’s space unit has warned that Russia may be close to being able to deploy and detonate a nuclear weapon in low Earth orbit, an action that could cause widespread disruption to the world’s vital infrastructure.
Michel Traut, commander of the German military’s space unit, said there was evidence that Moscow was developing technology related to this type of weapon.
In an interview with Politico, he stated that a nuclear explosion in space could create a very powerful electromagnetic pulse that would disable a large number of active satellites.
According to the German official, the consequences of such an explosion in the current situation, due to the significant increase in the number of satellites, could be much wider than the Starfish Prime nuclear test in 1962.
Experts warn that satellite failures could disrupt global internet connections, banking services, navigation systems and military command networks, and pose a risk of increasing space debris.
