Russia is ready to counter US ‘satellite jammer’ space plans

The new “satellite jammers” the US intends to deploy in space to target Russian and Chinese satellites are meant to deprive Moscow and Beijing of “command, control, communication and intelligence systems during times of conflict,” says Bruce Gagnon, coordinator at Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

According to him, these US jammers are “intended as offensive weapons” and have “nothing to do with defense whatsoever.”

The US' development of jammers, however, “is forcing Russia and China to develop similar technologies,” Gagnon adds.

“In the case of Russia, I know they're developing ways to block these jammers, to counter these jammers,” he says. “So this is all leading to the rise or the increase or the growth of tensions, escalation of warfare capabilities and space.”

Gagnon also observes that this development takes place as the US “refuses to have a treaty to ban weapons in space,” which effectively forced Russia, China and India to pursue the development of “kinetic energy anti-satellite weapons.”

“For at least 25 years, Russia and China have gone to the United Nations General Assembly and introduced a treaty to prevent all weapons in space,” he laments, noting that the US and Israel “blocked this development of this treaty for more than 25 years” when it was brought to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

Meanwhile, Alexander Mikhailov, head of Russian think tank Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, argues that the US' move to deploy satellite jammers in space suggest that Washington’s previous attempt to establish a ground-based satellite jamming system was unsuccessful.

Not only did that previous scheme require considerable investments into new jamming facilities on the ground, but the system that “the Americans previously touted as a tested, effective system that can suppress any satellite signal and would thus be able to blind or silence Russian and Chinese satellites – it turned out that this system does not work,” Mikhailov observes.

He also notes that Russian electronic warfare systems are much more advanced than the ones developed by the US, and mentioned multiple reports about Russian systems successfully jamming Starlink satellite signals.

He specifically mentions the Tirada 2-S systems that “successfully jam satellite communication signals and ‘blind’ the units covered in Starlink satellite dishes.”

Tirada 2-S, Mikhailov explains, is not only capable of suppressing satellite signals – it can also scramble communications and “create false narratives, not only jamming communication channels but deceiving those receiving satellite signals and the satellite in space that receives signals from Earth.”

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High tension in the French parliament

In accordance with tradition, the first session is chaired by the oldest MP, with the youngest MP being his secretary.

As secretary, 22-year-old Flavien Termet from Le Pen’s National Rally was supposed shake hands with MPs after they vote.

The MPs from the left alliance all refused to shake his hand.

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South Korea’s reactor venture highlights the loss of nuclear expertise by Western powers (Part 1/Part 2)

South Korea’s plan to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic, “effectively making a bridgehead for nuclear plant exports to Europe,” raises a number of interesting questions, says Dr. Chris Busby, a physical chemist and scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk.

“Why can’t Europe build its own reactors? Why is South Korea suddenly involved?” he inquires, noting that South Korea apparently also plans to export more reactors to the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and “other countries.”

“In Europe, if you (as a politician, as a State, as someone with no idea of the poisonous downstream effects) want to buy a nuclear power station, you have few choices. France, USA, Russia and South Korea. No one else is selling them, it seems,” Busby explains.

The United Kingdom essentially “gave up on building their own” and while France did “jump in… the French EDF just can’t seem to complete one, and costs go up and up and up,” he notes.

“As for the US reactors, they have all kinds of problems including cost problems. South Korea must have seen a gap in the market and dived in,” Busby adds. “The Czech government cannot deal with Russia because it is in the EU basket and mustn’t talk to the Russians. No doubt there was a good deal offered by South Korea, and the agreement was signed.”

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South Korea’s reactor venture highlights the loss of nuclear expertise by Western powers (Part 1/Part 2)

Russian political scientist and nuclear energy expert Alexey Anpilogov also suggests that South Korea’s foray into the nuclear reactor market is the result of the loss of expertise in nuclear power field not only in the United States but also in the EU and even in France who until recently “remained an island of stability of sorts for nuclear energy.”

“Because a large number of countries, like Germany and Italy, has given up nuclear power. Spain has also adopted a program of shutting down nuclear plants,” Anpilogov says. “And some countries, like Britain, have lost the expertise needed for building nuclear reactors while formally retaining their nuclear energy capabilities.”

Meanwhile, French nuclear power plant projects, both in France and in Finland, took much longer to complete than originally intended and cost a lot more than originally planned, he adds.

“In my opinion, it became apparent in the modern world that if you halt all production activity in some high-tech sphere even for 10-15 years, you end up losing key expertise because during that specialists [in that area] leave you so there is no more succession i.e. the passing of technology to new generations,” he explains.

Thus, the problems that could have been easily solved by American and European engineers in the 1970s or 1980s pose a serious challenge for their successors today, which, in the nuclear power field, leads to safety issues and to a serious increase of time and money spent on nuclear projects, Anpilogov concludes.

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📹 Celtic football fans fly the Palestine flag in protest during the USA's national anthem before a match in Washington DC.

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❗️Russian air defense systems destroyed 47 drones over the Rostov region; one drone each over Belgorod, Voronezh, and Smolensk regions, and eight over Kuban, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

In addition, 17 UAVs were destroyed over the waters of the Black and Azov Seas.

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"Wreaks of a coup" — American entrepreneur, David Sacks, on Joe Biden's sudden exit from the presidential race.

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Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race "did not have to do with any medical issues", CNN reports, citing a senior White House official.

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🇷🇺🇰🇵Russian Prosecutor General arrives in North Korea 

This is the first visit of the Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov to North Korea, in the history of cooperation between the supervisory authorities of the two countries.

In the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the head of the supervisory authority will hold talks with his counterpart, and discuss issues of bilateral cooperation with other officials.

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◾️ How did Joe Biden put US ‘in a serious state of crisis’ with his decision to withdraw?

◾️ Larry Johnson: 'American politics entered a great new period of chaos'

◾️ Kamala Harris is on her way to cringe to the presidential race

◾️ Russia is able to counter US ‘satellite jammer’ space plans

◾️ What does South Korea’s reactor venture in Europe signal to the West

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⚡️Head of Zelensky’s office oversaw preparation of Crimea terrorist attack in 2023 - FSB

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) found a delivery channel of explosives and detonators, which were sent in parcels from Italy and Germany to Russia.

The explosives were in the cavities of the auto parts. The ministry notes that a similar scheme for transporting explosives from Europe to Russia has already been exposed in April 2023 in Crimea.

The persons involved in the preparation of the terrorist attack were detained. They were supervised by the deputy head of Zelensky's office, Roman Mashovets, the FSB noted.

Requests have been sent to European special services to identify the organizers and accomplices of the terrorists, but no response has been received yet, the agency emphasizes.

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❗️The Russian Federal Security Service showed a video of packages with explosives coming from Europe.

The footage shows how specialists extract explosives from auto parts.

A representative of the transport company, through which the parcels were sent, said that their services were used behind the scenes.

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