The United States undertakes not to conduct tests of anti-satellite weapons and calls on other countries to join them. This was stated on Monday by the Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris, speaking at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The event was broadcast on the White House website.
“I am pleased to announce that from today the United States undertakes not to conduct destructive tests of anti-satellite missiles. Simply put, such tests are dangerous, and we will not carry them out,” she said.
“On behalf of the United States, I call on all countries to join, whether the country is a space power or not <…> We believe that this will benefit everyone,” Harris added.
According to the U.S. Vice President, the country “will work with other countries to establish this as a new norm of responsible behavior in space.”
According to CNBC, the last time the United States conducted an anti-satellite weapon test was in 2008, hitting an American reconnaissance satellite that had failed with an SM-3 anti-aircraft missile. Similar tests were also carried out by China, Russia and India.
