July 23 (UPI) -- The United States and Britain on Thursday said Russia conducted a non-destructive, space-based, anti-satellite weapons test earlier this month.
According to U.S. Space Command, on July 15 Russia "injected a new object into orbit from Cosmos 2543," a satellite that has been in orbit since 2019.
That move is "inconsistent with the system's stated mission as an inspector satellite," Space Command said.
"The Russian satellite system used to conduct this on-orbit weapons test is the same satellite system that we raised concerns about earlier this year, when Russia maneuvered near a U.S. government satellite," Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond, Commander of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations, said in a statement.
In February, Raymond said two Russian satellites appeared to be observing a U.S. satellite at close range, a situation he described as "unusual and disturbing."
"This is further evidence of Russia's continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin's published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold U.S. and allied space assets at risk," Raymond said on Thursday.
The United States has not previously accused Russia of testing space-based anti-satellite weapons.
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