{"id":15493,"date":"2020-04-02T14:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T14:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/04\/02\/russia-is-behind-in-military-space-capabilities-but-that-only-drives-its-appetite\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:30:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:30:55","slug":"russia-is-behind-in-military-space-capabilities-but-that-only-drives-its-appetite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/04\/02\/russia-is-behind-in-military-space-capabilities-but-that-only-drives-its-appetite\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia is behind in military space capabilities, but that only drives its appetite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the U.S. Space Force develops<\/a>, Russia continues to bolster its own military space assets, each challenging the other\u2019s dominance in outer space, despite the two partnering in the domain on research and exploration. Specifically, Russia is working to expand its anti-access\/area denial approach<\/a> in outer space in the form of electronic warfare, increasing sustainability of its communication systems, and developing offensive capabilities against ground-based space infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists\u2019 satellite database<\/a> and space-launch reporting<\/a>, there are more than 2,200 satellites in orbit, and over 1,000 of them belong to American companies, government services and scientific institutions, including 189 military satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has more than 160 satellites; this number includes about 100 military spacecraft. In comparison, China has more than 320 satellites, including almost 105 military spacecraft. Here, commercial communication and Earth-observation satellites may also be used for military purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s economy is less dependent on space infrastructure than that of America or China, and for sure less dependent than that of Europe. However, Russia tries to maintain at least the third-largest military satellite constellation in orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no official budgetary information<\/a> on Russia\u2019s military space program. Nevertheless, using governmental open sources<\/a> and financial data<\/a> from the state space corporation Roscosmos, it\u2019s estimated that annual spending on the development of Russia\u2019s military satellite constellation \u2014 satellites, launch vehicles and launches \u2014 is $1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending on Russian space navigation system GLONASS (currently made up of 27 satellites<\/a>) in 2019 was $437 million, and spending on military launch site Plesetsk is at least $100 million annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these efforts plus the cost of maintenance for other ground-based defense space infrastructure and personnel means that Russia\u2019s military space program is about $1.6 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest part of Russia\u2019s military satellite constellation involves 51 communication spacecraft, with 16 Earth-observation satellites. This differs from the American, Chinese and European ones, where Earth-observation satellites dominate. For instance, the U.S. has 56 Earth-observation satellites and 49 communication satellites, but China has 57 Earth-observation satellites and only three communication satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In this March 26, 1965 photo, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who stepped into space from the Voskod-2 spaceship, speaks in Moscow. Leonov, the first human to walk in space, died in Moscow on Friday. He was 85. (AP Photo, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Russian state-owned factories are faced with sanctions that affect their technological capabilities. And in contrast to other space powers, Russia\u2019s armed forces cannot rely on commercial space systems because the domestic market of commercial space services is poorly developed. Furthermore, Moscow\u2019s focus on communication and navigation capabilities creates a gap in space intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another factor work discussing is Russia\u2019s rotation of spacecraft. From 2014-2016, there were 22 military satellites launched by Russia, but the number of the constellations remained stable at 80-81 spacecraft. That was due to the removal of military satellites from the 1990s to the early 2000s, as well as failures and the removal of experimental satellites with short life spans.<\/p>\n\n\n\t