I wasn't thinking of nuclear attacks on satellites but by all means bring it on. Chindian satellites might get affected by this as well, as well as the country that is directly underneath the high altitude detonation. Maybe the US satellites are hardened against such effects rather than the 1962 technology satellites.clv101 wrote: ↑28 Oct 2022, 23:25The Starfish Prime test showed how a high altitude thermonuclear detonation can take out satellites. One interesting point wrt to WW3 is that the west gets far greater *relative* advantage from things like satellites, under sea fibre optics, international trade in energy and minerals etc.BritDownUnder wrote: ↑28 Oct 2022, 22:31 As for the satellites I think it will take one launch/one missile to destroy each satellite and the Russians can hardly manage more than a hundred of them a year. China is the one to worry about in this area I think.
In a 'last man standing' conflict it would be rational for Russia to nuke *all* the satellites, cut the cables, blow the pipelines, sink the ships etc. The west has more to lose, 'we' won't be able to cope with revisiting the 'stone age' as well as the Russians.
I am pretty sure that members of the US congress have said that an EMP attack will be considered a nuclear attack on the US and responded to accordingly. I think a few nuclear depth charges on those pesky Russian subs that are threatening the LNG carriers would be a good starting response.
Indeed the West has more to lose than Russia but if you are in Norilsk in the middle of a Siberian winter and a cruise missile takes out the district heating system/power station you might not survive in the Soviet era apartment blocks. Russia has quite a few vulnerable gas production sites in Yamal and Sakhalin that they are counting on for some hard cash or artillery shells or microchips. Russia is also quite reliant on railways rather than roads as their Kerch bridge tantrums show and blow a few bridges over the Volga/Ob etc and some locks on their canals and they might start feeling the heat.
Personally I think with all these empty sounding threats from Russia, after all any country helping Ukraine in any was going to get nuked, Finland and Sweden were going to get nuked for joining NATO, the UK should by now have been nuked several times, we can discount them. As a way of showing seriousness the West should probably begin underground nuclear testing again just to make sure the arsenal is in tip top condition. Also regular nuclear drills might have some effect. If you want to get frightened by empty rhetoric from a kleptocrat then be my guest and apply for a job at the Foreign Office. I'll be doing the gardening and maybe go to the beach.
