Acts of space warfare likely by 2025

Report: Acts of space warfare likely by 2025 ZDNet.com

It’s no secret that the extension of military weapons beyond the atmosphere is a priority for space-faring nations that need to protect their increasing military and commercial assets in orbit.

For instance, in 2001, a commission headed by then US Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld warned about a possible “space Pearl Harbor” which led to the development of the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) project.

But the concern over space supremacy runs deeper than threats of Russian anti-satellite weapons. A forecast published by the Military Space Transparency Project (MSTP) warns of a second arms race that can erupt if the international community doesn’t take steps toward a space treaty program.

“Given how easily information can spread about the globe today, it is inevitable that space warfare technologies will proliferate. Once one country sets its sights on space domination, other countries are sure to follow,” writes Matthew Hoey.

Hoey is MSTP’s founder and a former senior research associate at the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS), a United Nations non-governmental research organization located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he forecasted missile defense and military space technologies.

The report; Global Space Warfare Technologies - Influences, Trends & The Road Ahead, highlights the potential bridges and sequels between various existing and emerging technologies in the years leading up to 2025 that might culminate in acts of space warfare.

“The international community is in a race against time as technologies are evolving faster than ever before and will continue to accelerate exponentially in an almost biological fashion. If this process continues unabated, it will almost certainty result in the deterioration of peaceful collaborations, an increase in the creation of orbital debris, and the risk of an accidental or spasm nuclear event,” according to Hoey.

Armed with a strong technical aptitude, Hoey’s analysis of dual-use and emerging technologies that’ll lead to the weaponization of space–including artificial intelligence, robotics, directed energy and nanotechnology–is worth the read.

France: Helping to build Polish nuclear plants

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed Thursday to work together on a 20-year programme to develop Poland's nuclear industry.

France will train Polish engineers and joint research will be carried out on equipping Poland with nuclear plants by 2030, the leaders said in a joint declaration following talks in Paris.

Tusk said Poland hoped to put a first reactor in service in around 2020 and a second around five years later, hailing the deal with France as the "grand beginning of Poland's nuclear programme."

Sarkozy welcomed "the Polish decision to launch exclusive high-level talks on developing a nuclear industry in Poland."

Warsaw announced plans to develop a nuclear energy programme in a bid to diversify its energy sources, as a row between Russia and Ukraine halted gas supply to Europe. Poland imports around 40 percent of its gas from Russia.

Poland, which currently relies on coal-fired plants for 94 percent of its electricity, has also committed itself to easing its dependence on coal as part of the EU's climate package which limits greenhouse gas emissions.

The three-part cooperation deal was struck on the sidelines of Tusk's visit, between the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and a consortium of Polish institutes and the Polish academy of sciences.

The French-Polish announcement comes days after nuclear regulators raised concerns over the design of France's new-generation EPR reactor, saying its day-by-day control systems were too closely entwined with emergency systems.

Experts have said there was a small chance the regulators' complaint could add to existing delays and cost overruns to the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) programme, led by French nuclear giant Areva.

But French Prime Minister Francois Fillon insisted Thursday the state had "full confidence" in Areva's ability to address the safety concerns.

France generates more than three-quarters of its electricity through nuclear power, more than any other country by proportion, and Sarkozy has made exporting French know-how a top priority.

China and Finland are already building French-designed new generation reactors, and talks are underway to export the EPR model to Britain, India, Abu Dhabi and the United States.

Iran: Brazil Enjoying Closer Nuclear Co-operation

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended closer ties with Brazil Friday, hinting at a bilateral nuclear cooperation ahead of a state visit.

Ahmadinejad stressed the "need for cooperation between the two countries in various fields," according to a statement distributed here by the Iranian embassy.

"While there is an unfair polemic in Western countries against Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the people of Brazil side with the Iranian people."

Pointing to Brazil's own nuclear program, Ahmadinejad said Brazilians "understand that a few arrogant powers... are trying to prevent other nations from having access to advanced science."

Ahmadinejad arrives in Brazil on Monday for a busy day-long visit that includes a meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, signing bilateral trade deals, a visit to Congress, a press conference and a speech at a Brasilia university, according to the embassy.

It will be the first visit by an Iranian president to Brazil, and Ahmadinejad's third round of talks with Lula, who is scheduled to visit Tehran in early 2010.

Israel, whose conservative government considers Ahmadinejad-ruled Iran an existential threat, has already blasted Brazil's "mistake" in hosting the firebrand leader.

Brazil has backed Iran's nuclear development program, as long as it serves peaceful, civilian uses. Lula told AFP in September that he was against sanctions on Iran, preferring instead diplomacy.

His stance contrasts with the United States, its Western allies and Israel, which charge that Tehran is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb under the cover of its suspect nuclear program.

World powers are engaged in long-running efforts to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions but in the latest setback, Tehran has rejected a proposed nuclear fuel deal.

The Iranian leader called for Brasilia's cooperation on Middle East concerns, as Brazil seeks to boost its international profile to match its growing economic heft.

"If the Brazilian people and the Iranian people are united on issues such as the Zionist regime's cruel attack on the defenseless people of Gaza, this will show a mutual desire" for peace, Ahmadinejad said.

He was referring to the 22-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that ended in January, killing some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

Ahmadinejad's stop in Brazil, part of a broader Latin American tour to boost its influence in the region, comes just over a week after Lula hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres.