“In October of last year the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed a space object they claimed was a ‘space apparatus inspector.’ But its behavior on-orbit was inconsistent with anything seen before from on-orbit inspection or space situational awareness capabilities, including other Russian inspection satellite activities,” said Yleem Poblete. the State Department’s assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance. “We don’t know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it. But Russian intentions with respect to this satellite are unclear and are obviously a very troubling development—particularly, when considered in concert with statements by Russia’s Space Force Commander.”

Poblete’s comments were part of an address made at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. The address comes less than a week after the Pentagon announced it would establish a Space Force as a sixth military branch. The Department of Defense released a report Aug. 9 outlining the need for and potential organizational structure of a Space Force. In particular, U.S. officials are worried about advances from China and Russia.

“Although U.S. space systems have historically maintained a technological advantage over those of potential adversaries, those potential adversaries are now actively developing way to deny our use of space in a crisis,” the report said.

Poblete used the address to highlight the potential threat of Russian space weapons such as anti-satellite weapons or missiles designed to destroy satellites.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that its Space Troops have received a mobile laser system which Vladimir Putin announced to the world on March 1 of this year. Russia’s leader himself alluded to space weapons being ‘more acceptable in the political and military respect’,” Poblete said.

She said the purpose of the satellite detected in October remains unclear but that U.S. officials find the development especially concerning after Russia’s Space Force Commanded highlighted the importance of assimilating new weapons prototypes into its Space Force.

Poblete said Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release the satellites were “simply inspector satellites.”

While she did not mention the satellite by name, observers have speculated the satellite may be one of a series of Russian satellites launched June 23, 2017. In August 23, 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a press release that said “Today, a small-sized spacecraft has separated from the space platform in order to inspect condition of the Russian satellite.”

A scientific experiment aimed to assess condition of the satellite according to its internal appearance is to be held in future

In April, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a Space Threat Assessment report that identified Russia’s space force and anti-satellite technology as one of the significant threats to the United States.

The report pointed to the Soviet Union’s history of developing and operating anti-satellite weapons and the use of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), which involves moving a satellite to a target to damage or destroy it, as part of Russia’s advantage as it continues to develop space technology.

Similarly, a report from the Secure World Foundation, also from April, found that Russia is investing heavily in Rendezvous and Proximity Operations, or RPO – the ability to have a system in space maneuver around and interact with another nation’s satellites. However, that report noted there is “no proof” these are disruptive capabilities as opposed to intelligence gathering investments

“MUOS’ acceptance for operational use is an important milestone for the Navy, and it’s one step closer for significant communications improvements for all our forces,” Rear Adm. Carl Chebi, the Navy’s program executive officer for space systems, said in the release.

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), built by Lockheed Martin, is a five-satellite constellation, which includes four operational satellites and an on-orbit spare, that works with ground relays to operate like a global military cellular network. The first satellite launched in 2012.

The system can transmit voice, video and mission data on an Internet Protocol based system that can connect to military networks. Users can connect to Department of Defense communications networks such as the Global Information Grid and Defense Switched Network.

The Marine Corps, which has invested heavily in MUOS-portable radios will be the first service to widely deploy MUOS capabiltiies. Initial fielding will begin this fall and is expected to be declared fully operational by summer 2019.

MUOS satellites are designed with dual-capability, which allows DoD to maintain communications on the legacy Ultra High Frequency satellite system while the advanced MUOS Wideband Code Division Multiple Access waveform came online.

WCDMA capability has been demonstrated in environments with submarine antennas and Air Force C-17 in-flight tests.

After the MUOS launch in 2012, WCDMA capability began what’s known as restricted operations in July 2016 so early adopters could gain experience using the system.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report July 30 reviewing the Department of Defense’s use of commercial satellites to host communications packages and sensors. Since 2009, DOD has used three commercial satellites to host communications technology and sensors. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have used or plan to use commercial host satellites.

According to the GAO report, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Hosted Payload Office (HPO) reported nearly $300 million in savings by using a commercial host satellite. The Air Force reported commercial host satellites saved $230 million for its Responsive Environmental Assessment Commercially Hosted (REACH) effort. That program calls for 32 sensors payloads hosted on Iridium NEXT satellites to monitor space radiation levels.

The Air Force established the Hosted Payload Office in 2014 to provide contract vehicles for DOD and civil agencies to access commercially hosted payload options.

Using this approach also shortens timelines for launching payloads into space, the GAO report said. The agency also found that using commercial host satellites increased the number and diversity of potential targets, which makes it more difficult for an adversary to decide what to attack.

However, the report recommended that DOD require program to share information to a central location to mitigate the problem of fragmented knowledge and increase department-wide understanding.

“DOD would benefit from leveraging the knowledge and information gained from each hosted payload experience,” the report said.

In addition to the three satellites used since 2009, DOD plans to use another three through 2022.