Moscow, Aug 14 (Prensa Latina) Washington''s unwillingness to reach a compromise that prevents a confrontation in space with Russia increases the likelihood of a conflict in this field, said the scientist Vasily Kashin.
The specialist of the Russian Center for Strategies and Technologies expresses that view in commenting on an article about the arms race in outer space, published in the American Scientist magazine.

Kashin ponders in his commentary on the prominent role assigned in current war programs to space satellites and the United States' GPS system, and Russia's Glonass.

The specialist on military topics warns that it is unlikely to reach a compromise in the field of space technologies, because there is only one undoubted leader worldwide in the military use of the cosmos, the United States, 'which is not willing to limit its possibilities,' he added, as quoted by Novosti.

Faced with this reality, Russia and China, political rivals of Washington, are forced to take action in response, which in the near future could lead to mass production of anti-satellite weapons, the source said.

The analyst reminds that current technological achievements facilitate the creation of systems increasingly smaller and more effective to destroy satellites, and Russia, China, the United States and other military powers focus resources on developing these weapons.

"Space technologies define nowadays much of the character of modern warfare, and depriving the enemy of their use, can destroy his guidance system and turn lots of weapons and equipment into useless junk," Kashin writes.

The scholar predicts that China could be the first nation that has anti-satellite complexes, while the Pentagon claims for itself absolute freedom in the cosmos and restrictions on the development of these weapons to other countries.

The expert adds that the Americans already achieved a breakthrough on the emplacement of weapons in weightlessness, and fear that Moscow and Beijing create effective weapons to counter that advantage.

Kashin warns that the situation may be complicated in the coming decades, because after the trio marching ahead other countries with space programs such as India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, and further down the road, Brazil and Pakistan, may have similar plans.

The analyst maintains that the high cost and complexity of space technologies and the amount of time needed to develop them may lengthen the process, but not stop it.