Description
Recent events, such as the use of space and counterspace capabilities in the Russo-Ukrainian War and the announced U.S. Golden Dome missile defence system, are a reminder of the varied challenges faced in space. This paper assesses the strategic need, the defence decision-making environment, and the context surrounding the Nudol direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) system to establish the motivations behind its development and testing. This paper reviews the potential offensive and defensive roles of Nudol, its role within Russian military space strategy, and the threat assessments involved. The defence decision-making environment section examines high- and low-level activities, including the political environment, intervention and patronage, and individual and group lobbying. Lastly assessed is the context, both domestic and international, at key points in the system’s life cycle. Nudol’s connection to a range of past and present issues, from the Soviet missile defence program to President Vladimir Putin’s use of his inner circle to establish and maintain power, provides insight not only into continuity and change in political and military thinking on ASAT systems, but also into Russia's arms procurement process, the continued symbolic importance of space for the state, and its military space strategy. As space continues to play a key role in the functioning of the international system and in armed conflict, understanding the motivations behind military space developments is increasingly important.
