The threat from Russia to the United States has been around for decades now. It began with the Cold War, when they were still the Soviet Union, and has essentially carried for the last six decades to where we are now. We have been in a de-facto Cold War since then, and with technology progressing to new heights, we have arrived at a new threat: space wars.
That is right. Russia has been working for decades on a new space-based nuclear weapon and are reportedly nearing completion of this feat. Of course, it could be all posturing, with no real threat behind it. But it is enough of a concern that it has some General's concerned of a space battle.
General Stephen Whitting of the U.S. Space Force recently said that that this will ultimately cause World War III to start in space. National security expert Ed Turzanski says the fears are substantiated because detonating a nuke near the atmosphere like that would have massive repercussions.
"It will have dire consequences for any satellite that is up there, including Putin's own," he says.
It goes without being said that disrupting satellites, or in this case destroying them, would wreak havoc on not just the United States, but the globe. It would disrupt phone communications, internet, and with that, every national security system we have.
The US has a Space Force, but it was met with general laughability from most people. But, as it turns out, Donald trump was right to believe in building what could be the next big battle ground.
It would not just be us though, this would disrupt Putin's Russia. All of it begs the question, would he ever actually press the button?
"I do not think he would do it, but that is not reason to not prepare...because if not him, someone else will try," he says. "It would be catastrophic, just in terms of everyday life."
For years, people called Trump a maniac with his finger on a nuclear button, ignoring the fact that Putin is actually the maniac with his finger on the button.
We have underinvested in this kind of technology though. We have the ability to fend off things like hypersonic missiles, and other weapons. But, if communications are out, any defense system becomes a moot point.
And if we do not wake up soon, and smell the coffee, we could be in for a rough ride.
"The Russians have capabilities they did not have in the Cold War...we are not in a position to claim technological dominance like we once did," says Turzanski.