Тщательно управляемая истерика:

ANOTHER FUNDING DEADLINE looms and the message from the Pentagon is clear: the current fiscal uncertainty isn't just a bureaucratic inconvenience — it's a direct threat to national security and technological superiority.

With the clock ticking towards the March deadlines when the government will run out of funding, the pressure is on for Congress to pass federal appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024.

DoD insists that if Congress ends up passing a full-year continuing resolution to keep the government's lights on, defense programs would get at least $26.6 billion less than the $886.3 billion topline agreed to under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

Half of those reductions, or about $13 billion, are Department of the Air Force programs, including $2.8 billion in the Space Force’s budget.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters last week that these cuts would stall progress on new space architectures planned for operations in contested environments, and risk the nation’s ability to maintain a competitive edge in space.

“One of the real challenges that we're facing in the Space Force is an instability in our funding,” said Saltzman.

“We buy launch services two years in advance,” he noted. “If you don't have a steady stable line and funding you really can’t pre-plan and buy those missions ahead of time,” he said. “It's an acute problem that affects almost everything we do.”

THE LATEST REVELATIONS on Russia's development of an advanced anti-satellite weapon sent shockwaves through Washington last week.

The White House confirmed that Russia is working on a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon but did not shed light on its capabilities, such as whether the ASAT might be nuclear-armed.

Anti-satellite weapons have been a longstanding concern due to their potential to disrupt essential satellite-dependent services, including communications, navigation, and intelligence.

The prospect of a nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ASAT from Russia has raised alarm due to the potential for mass destruction and the violation of international law.

The Atlantic Council, a think tank focused on international affairs, argues that these developments “require a firm U.S. response, not hysteria.”

A few takeaways from the Council’s statement:

Even if fielded, a nuclear ASAT capability would not significantly revise the U.S.-Russia balance of power in space or on Earth. Still, the United States and its allies and partners must respond.

This development should serve as further impetus for U.S. space planners to take seriously the prospect of nuclear use in space.

Space planners should ensure that defense plans for high-end conflicts are resilient against a loss of unhardened space systems, either by hardening a sufficient number of systems or ensuring alternate sensing and communications options are in place.

If space norms are to mean anything, then the United States must rally like-minded nations to register their concern over this potential flagrant violation of the Outer Space Treaty.

Сегодня обсудим на стриме по средам. Ровно в 21:00 на YouTube-канале "Дмитрий Конаныхин. Русская техника и космос" 🎙

📹 Путин на авиазаводе в Казани поднялся в кабину модернизированного стратегического ракетоносца Ту-160М.

Видео: Екатерина Кочетова/ТАСС