Headline August 31, 2018/ '' '*WARS* & WARES*' ''

'' '*WARS* & WARES*' ''

CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS, however are another matter and the US - starting with the Obama administration - has repeatedly refused to back -

The Arms Race in Outer Space treaty which would ban the placement of conventional weapons  in space.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently railed against this refusal, accusing the US of  ''nurturing plans to militarize outer space [and deploy weapons in outer space]''.

He's not wrong, given the US recently launched the secretive X-37B unmanned spaceplane, which can remain in orbit for a year. [Ironically, the use of orbiting space craft as surveillance and weapons platform was proposed by Soviet Scientists decades ago], and that there is a real possibility that -

Conventional hypersonic missiles {currently in development could be placed on US military satellites. That's a frightening prospect for any potential target country, given that the speed of these missiles renders them impossible to intercept. 

Adding to the potential orbital bombardment arsenal is the modern version of the Cold War Project Thor, which envisaged massive rungsten rods being fired from sub-orbit with devastating velocity .

On the ground, these 'rods from God'' would impact like like a nuclear weapon, without all the pesky fallout.

Given how the US dominates orbital space, it is no surprise that both Russia and China are railing against its refusal to back the treaty, but this does not mean that those nations are not scrambling to develop countermeasures - not space weapons per se, but weapons based on earth that can target space platforms.

These include ground-based anti-satellite ballistic missiles, and the 'directed energy weapons' [including lasers] which could be used to damage or destroy sensitive space-based equipment.

In order to offset America's massive satellite surveillance networks, lasers are also being developed to effectively 'blind' those satellites.

This doesn't mean that China and Russia are not vying for space based weapons platforms of their own, but that they are prioritizing less expensive countermeasures rather than trying to match the US in a field which the latter already enjoys a massive lead.

In the event of a conflict, the space theatre will be further complicated by the fact that many space technologies are dual use and that manoeuvrable satellites can easily be fitted or turned into weapons even if their actual purpose was far more benign.

Similarly, advanced ballistic missiles defence systems also have the latent ability to target satellites, should the need arise.

What this means is that in any future conflict, the lines will be further blurred, thresholds will be lowered and paranoia may lead to disastrous miscalculations.

It's not all doom and gloom though, as advances in space [and military] technology do indeed trickle down to us on earth as well, and the global positioning system that helps us get around is just one such example.

And then, of course, there's the promise that if the real ''terrestrial beings' show up, we may have a surprise or two in store for them.

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'''' Paranoia & Particulars ''''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless