The United States has collected highly sensitive information about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with top government officials, according to four people briefed on the intelligence. The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said the capability was not yet operational.
The intelligence prompted an urgent but vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, who urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a grave national security threat.
Rep. Mike Turner provided no details on the nature of the threat, and the Biden administration also declined to address it. But several top lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, cautioned against being overly alarmed.
A congressional aide said he understood the threat referred to a Russian anti-satellite weapon deployed in space. Such a weapon could pose a grave danger to U.S. satellites that transmit billions of bytes of data every hour.
The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said it was not yet clear whether the Russian weapon has nuclear capability, but said that was the fear.
The threat that Turner raised concerns about is not an active capability, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence. One added that intelligence officials consider the threat significant, but it should not cause panic.
Turner released a statement urging the administration to declassify the information so that the United States and its allies can openly discuss how to respond.
He also emailed members of Congress that his committee had “identified an urgent issue regarding a destabilizing foreign military capability” that should be known to all congressional policymakers. He encouraged them to go to a SCIF, a secure area, to review intelligence.
Turner has been a voice for greater U.S. national security, putting him at odds with some Republican colleagues who favor a more isolationist approach. He has called for the renewal of a key US government surveillance tool, while some fellow Republicans and liberal Democrats have raised objections over privacy.
And he supports continuing U.S. military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia at a time when funding remains uncertain due to opposition in the Republican-led House.
Johnson said he was not at liberty to disclose the confidential information. “But we just want to assure everyone that there is a steady hand behind the wheel. We are working on it and there is no need to be alarmed,” he told reporters at the Capitol.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, a ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the classified information was “significant” but “not a cause for panic.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee said it is monitoring the matter.
“We continue to take this matter seriously and are discussing an appropriate response with the administration,” Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic caucus chairman, and Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman, said in a statement. “In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially revealing sources and methods that could be critical to preserving a range of options for U.S. action.”
The rapidly evolving threat in space was a major reason why the US Space Force was established in 2019. Much of this threat has to do with new capabilities that China and Russia have already developed that can interfere with critical US communications via satellite. , such as GPS and the ability to quickly detect missile launches.
In recent years the United States has seen both China and Russia pursue new ways to jam satellites, intercept their feeds, blind them, shoot them down and even potentially grab them with a robotic arm to pull them out of their programmed orbits. One of the Space Force’s key missions is to train troops skilled in detecting and defending against such threats.
In its 2020 Defense Space Strategy, the Pentagon said China and Russia pose the greatest strategic threat in space due to their aggressive development of counterspace capabilities and their military doctrine that requires extending conflict into space.
The White House and lawmakers expressed frustration with the way Turner expressed his concerns. His announcement appears to have taken the Biden administration by surprise.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that he was already expected to brief Turner and other senior congressional leaders on Thursday. Sullivan did not disclose the matter or provide any other details related to Turner’s statement.
“My goal is to see him, to sit with him and the other members of the House of Eight, tomorrow,” Sullivan said. “And I’m not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time.”
He acknowledged that it was not standard practice to offer such a briefing.
“I’ll just say that I personally contacted the Gang of Eight. It’s very unusual, in fact, for the national security adviser to do something like that,” Sullivan said. He said he contacted him earlier this week.
Johnson said he sent a letter last month to the White House requesting a meeting with the president to discuss “the serious national security matter which is classified.” He said Sullivan’s meeting was in response to his request.
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Lee reported from Munich. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Tara Copp and Michael Balsamo contributed.