Defense Intelligence Agency says Russian nuclear satellite program could threaten thousands of spacecraft

Russia is developing a satellite designed to carry a nuclear weapon that could disable thousands of spacecraft, according to the US Defense Intelligence Agency's October 2026 assessment. The agency warns that a detonation could cause immediate satellite losses and create persistent radiation belts damaging military, commercial, navigation, weather and scientific systems. Its report also discusses Cosmos 2553, launched in February 2022 into an unusual isolated orbit, which Moscow described as a radiation-effects experiment. The assessment identifies a development programme rather than an announced operational deployment and places it alongside Russian jamming, laser and other counterspace capabilities.