GEN JOHN W. RAYMOND, Commander of the US Space Command and US Space Force Chief of Space Operations, claims that the Russians demonstrated an anti-satellite weapon on 15 July in a non-destructive test involving a top-secret US satellite from the National Reconnaissance Office. This claim follows a verified test carried out in 2017 involving two Russian satellites in which one approached the other before drawing away. Launched on 26 November 2019, Cosmos 2543, which the Russians call an "inspector" satellite, was reportedly shadowing the NRO satellite (US 245) after manoeuvring in close proximity. Later, it moved away to close on Cosmos 2542, at which point it released another object (45915 in the catalogue of space objects) at 07.50 UTC on 15 July which departed at high velocity. US 245 is a KH-11 spy satellite and a high value asset for maintaining observation on places of interest to national security.
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