The Pentagon says it needs to be ready should an adversary try to fry satellites by detonating a nuke in space

• The Department of Defense has released a new Defense Space Strategy outlining its plans to maintain a competitive edge in space, which it says is becoming a contested domain and an "arena of potential conflict."
• One threat is a nuclear detonation in space, which could create an electro-magnetic pulse that would cook US satellites.
• In its Defense Space Strategy, the Department of Defense identified China and Russia as "the most immediate and serious threats to US space operations," but it adds that Iran and North Korea are also potential threats.

The Department of Defense listed a number of potential threats to the US in its new space strategy released Wednesday, and one of them is the threat of China, Russia, or some other adversary detonating a nuclear weapon in space.

"The challenge of a nuclear detonation is that it creates an electromagnetic pulse and a signal that could then take out indiscriminately many satellites in space and essentially fry the electronics," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Stephen Kitay said at the Pentagon Wednesday, responding to a question from Task & Purpose's Jeff Schogol.

"That is a threat that we have to potentially be prepared for — a nuclear detonation in space," he said. The threat of a nuclear detonation in space is not new, though, and has been a concern since the Cold War.

While the US, China, and Russia are all parties to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the placing and detonation of nuclear weapons in space, the Department of Defense apparently would rather be safe than sorry on this issue.

Kitay suggested that critical satellites, such as command and control and missile warning satellites are potentially shielded, but others are not.

The threat of a nuclear detonation in space "goes on a continuum of a range of threats that we have to be prepared for potential adversaries to employ," Kitay said. Other threats identified in the new space strategy include directed energy attacks, cyber and electronic warfare, and denial and deception efforts.

In its Defense Space Strategy, the Department of Defense identified China and Russia as "the most immediate and serious threats to US space operations" while adding that Iran and North Korea's abilities to threaten US systems and operations in space are growing.

The Department of Defense stated in the report that it relies heavily on space for power projection and rapid response, more so than potential US adversaries. Furthermore, the US military has "limited operational experience with conflict beginning in or extending into space."

These challenges are vulnerabilities that can be exploited by potential US adversaries developing counterspace capabilities. Kitay told reporters Wednesday that the US is ahead of Russia and China, "but we are absolutely at risk."

Arguing the point of the new space strategy, Kitay said that because China and Russia are "actively developing capabilities to negate US, allied and partner space systems, we are left with no choice but to ensure we are prepared with the necessary means to protect and defend ourselves from attacks to our systems."

He pointed in particular to a 2017 launch of a pair of Russian satellites, one of which launched a high-speed projectile into space. And, earlier this year, two Russian satellites were spotted tailing a US satellite in a move that Gen. John Raymond, head of US Space Force and US Space Command, characterized as "unusual and disturbing."

"I wish I could say that space is a sea of tranquility, but the fact of the matter is that space is contested," Kitay said. "Outer space has emerged as a key arena of potential conflict in an era of great power competition."