The George Marshall Institute is releasing a new paper examining Russian national security space policies and programs.
“The report is an essential reference for scholars, students, and practitioners,” Institute President Jeff Kueter commented. “It is a thorough treatment of the evolution of Russian thinking on space security questions and complements that analysis with an overview of how Russian leaders have translated those plans into actual systems and capabilities.”
Authored by Institute Research Associate Jana Honkova, she observes that: “While Russia pursues a highly ambitious space exploration program, the military value of its space program prevails – a continuity from Soviet times.”
Honkova notes that Russia views its military space investments and capabilities in relation to the United States. Concluding her assessment, she notes: “While the differences between the U.S. and Russian approach to most issues in international politics remain apparent, the states’ approach to military space is in a surprising congruence. The United States and Russia concur in first, the understanding of the importance of space assets in contemporary warfare, second, the desire to assure an independent access to space, and third, the desire to assure undisturbed use of space assets.”
Honkova is also the author of the Institute study on Russian ballistic missile defense investments (Current Developments in Russia’s Ballistic Missile Defense, April 2013).
