Overview

• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has stated that Russia is reportedly exploring the deployment of nuclear weapons in space to enhance its outdated space capabilities.
• Such a move could target satellites, disrupting critical services like communications, banking, and weather forecasting, with widespread consequences on Earth.
• Deploying nuclear weapons in space would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the placement of weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
• NATO allies are responding by sharing intelligence, establishing national space command centers, and developing more maneuverable and resilient satellite technology.
• The militarization of space reflects broader geopolitical tensions, with NATO emphasizing space as a critical domain for defense alongside land, sea, air, and cyberspace.