On November 9, Germany and the UK simultaneously warned of the growing threat from Russian satellites. These countries have accused Russia of regularly monitoring and harassing and interfering with their satellites in space in recent weeks.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin in September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned: "Russia's actions, especially in space, pose a fundamental threat... that we cannot ignore any more." Mr. Pistorius revealed that two Russian reconnaissance satellites were recently discovered monitoring two IntelSat satellites, which were used by the German armed forces and its allies.
The head of the British Space Command, Major General Paul Tedman, also issued a similar warning. He said Russian satellites not only monitored British assets in space, but also carried out weekly " harassment".
He explained that these Russian satellites are equipped with specialized equipment that can observe and are trying to collect information from British satellites.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned again about Russia's plan to develop nuclear weapons in space to disable and destroy satellites. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly denied the intention, Russia also rejected a UN Security Council resolution in 2024, which called on countries not to develop nuclear weapons in space.
Experts explain that detecting foreign satellites is relatively simple, but it is difficult to determine their intentions. Clayton Swope, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said authorities were speculating the intention based on the Russian satellite's spent long periods near a European telecommunications satellite.
In lower Orbities, Swope said Russian satellites have previously experimented with what appears to be weapons and shells. The Russian people have a history of letting those satellites follow other satellites in a way that people would have thought it was a zone-cast cell waiting to attack, he said.
This behavior is not completely new. The US and France have warned about Russian reconnaissance satellites for more than a decade. Juliana Suess, a researcher in Germany, said these acts need to be seen in the broader context of the Ukrainian conflict and the NATO airspace violations that Russia is conducting.
To cope, the German government said it will spend up to $40.2 billion over the next five years on space projects. He has also pledged to increase defense spending and is testing sensors to detect laser threats in space. Meanwhile, France is promoting "sanitary satellites" - satellites tasked with protecting other satellites.
