Realistically speaking, we are only at the nascent stage of arms race in the space.Īn unintended but foreseeable result of the test was the creation of a massive amount of space debris which even threatened the lives of astronauts on board the International Space Station. Apart from these weapons, other forms of space weapons that have already been developed include lasers targeted towards enemy satellites, jammers, plasma attacks, and orbital ballistic missiles. So far only China, Russia, India, and USA have successfully test fired ASAT weapons while many other nations are in the process of developing ASAT weapons of their own. Numerous countries led by the Unites States condemned this test and described Russia’s actions as “simply irresponsible” and a threat to the “long term sustainability of. An unintended but foreseeable result of the test was the creation of a massive amount of space debris which even threatened the lives of astronauts on board the International Space Station.

These weapons could be used to target civilian satellites as well, the consequences of which in today’s modern world would be catastrophic. The ASAT is a space weapon that is meant to target enemy satellites, which would cripple the enemy’s military ability to operate in the battlefield.

On 15 November 2021, Russia carried out a Direct-Ascent Anti-Satellite (DA-ASAT) test by shooting down one of its old satellites.

Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology.

Space warfare treaty