Military alliance ‘will not put weapons in orbit but has to protect interests of west’

Nato is to turn its attention to space as an “operational domain” over concern that enemies of the western military alliance could cause chaos by jamming satellites.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said there was no question of weapons being deployed but that the alliance had to protect civilian and military interests.

The alliance was also seeking to improve the way it shared its assets in space, Stoltenburg, a former prime minister of Norway, said.

“Making space an operational domain will help us ensure all aspects are taken into account to ensure the success of our missions,” he said. “For instance this can allow Nato planners to make a request for allies to provide capabilities and services, such as satellite communications and data imagery.”

Soltenberg noted that there were 2,000 satellites in orbit and that space was central to the alliance’s defence.

In two weeks leaders of the military alliance, including the US president, Donald Trump, will convene in London – at a difficult time. The summit follows remarks by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who complained in an interview with the Economist that a lack of strategic cooperation among Nato members showed the alliance was suffering “brain death”.

Last month Turkey, which has Nato’s second-biggest army after the US, was given US approval for a military operation in Syria opposed by the UK, France and Germany.

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has proposed to establish a group of experts headed by Stoltenberg to engage in political discussion on the alliance’s strategic thinking in response to Macron’s stance.

Stoltenberg said the proposal had received support from many allies, adding: “ I think it has value and we will now look into it as we prepare for the upcoming leaders meeting.”

Concerns have also been raised that Macron had suggested that there was an opportunity for a rapprochement with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Stoltenberg said it was important that the alliance showed unity and that different views were best dealt with through talks in London, where he said he was confident agreement would be found.

“Space is part of our daily life here on Earth,” he said. “It can be used for peaceful purposes. But it can also be used aggressively. Satellites can be jammed, hacked or weaponised. Anti-satellite weapons could cripple communications and other services our societies rely on, such as air travel, weather forecasts or banking.

“Space is also essential to the alliance’s deterrence and defence, including the ability to navigate, to gather intelligence, and to detect missile launches. Around 2,000 satellites orbit the Earth. And around half of them are owned by Nato countries. Nato has no intention to put weapons in space. We are a defensive alliance.”

However, Trump expressed different views when he announced the creation of a US space command as part of the military set-up in August. “It’s a big deal,” Trump had said, describing space as “the next war-fighting domain”. He said: “And I think that’s pretty obvious to everybody.”