Nivelir

Inspector subsatellite

The much smaller inspector satellites are built by TsNIIKhM and equipped to approach and inspect other satellites from extremely close ranges. For on-orbit navigation and targeting, the subsatellites utilize the "KTZ" computer vision system developed by the State Ryazan Instrument Plant [ru] (GRPZ) and laser rangefinders which are functional between 200 meters and 12 kilometers.^[9]

Kosmos–2504 and Fengyun–1C

Kosmos-2504 [ru] was launched on March 31, 2015, along with three Gonets-M communication satellites. The satellite spent its first two years making a series of 11 maneuvers near its Briz-M upper stage. In 2017, it maneuvered to within a kilometer of the debris cloud of Fengyun-1C, a weather satellite destroyed in a 2007 anti-satellite missile test by the Chinese military.^[12] In a report from state-run news outlet Interfax, former Roscosmos director Oleg Ostapenko claimed the satellites "are absolutely peaceful vehicles", saying "we know these tall tales about small maneuvering vehicles."^[13] John B. Sheldon of the George C. Marshall Institute called its maneuvers "characteristic of orbital anti-satellite weapons."^[14]

Kosmos–2542 and USA–245

On November 25, 2019, Kosmos-2542 [ru] launched into a coplanar orbit trailing USA-245, a likely KH-11 series reconnaissance satellite owned by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, closing to within 30 kilometers of the American spacecraft. On December 6, Kosmos-2542 released a sub-satellite, Kosmos-2543, which made multiple passes near USA-245, then backed off and released an object, tentatively identified as Kosmos-2547, at a speed astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell estimated to be 140-180 meters per second.^[6] A press release from U.S. Space Command stated that "on July 15, Russia injected a new object into orbit from Cosmos 2543", stating that the speed was fast enough to damage or destroy any target in its sights, and characterizing it as amounting to "a test of an anti-satellite weapon", likely intended as a show of force.^[15][16] On December 9, USA–245 left its orbit in an apparent evasive maneuver to prevent a close encounter with the Kosmos–2543 subsatellite.^[17]

Commanding general of the U.S. Space Force general John W. Raymond described the Kosmos-2542 Nivelir satellite as a "nesting doll" with an outer casing that opens up to reveal an inner satellite shell which itself opens to reveal an anti-satellite weapon that can fire at and destroy orbiting satellites from a safe distance.^[15] In response to Raymond's comments, the Russian foreign ministry stated: "the movement of our device did not pose a threat to the American space object and, most importantly, did not violate any norms and principles of international law."^[18]

Kosmos–2558 and USA–326

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Kosmos–2558 viewed on orbit from an HEO Robotics microsatellite.

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Just six months after the launch of USA-326, Russia launched Kosmos-2558 into the same sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) with a difference of just 0.04 degrees and a separation of 37 miles (60 kilometers), demonstrating that Russia can select targets and launch a pursuit craft on relatively short notice.^[19] Kosmos-2558 continued performing semi-monthly orbit corrections to keep its altitude between 441 and 444 km, apparently to maintain an orbital plane close to that of USA-326. By the middle of March 2023, the Russian satellite closed on the U.S. spacecraft, making periodic close passes. Around March 18, 2023, Kosmos–2558 proceeded to release an object into an orbit close to USA–326, which performed an evasive maneuver.^[17] Marco Langbroek, an astronomer and lecturer on space domain awareness at the Delft University of Technology, suggested that the RPO by Kosmos-2558 represented "the positioning of a counterspace capacity (a dormant co-orbital ASAT weapon)"^[20]

Kosmos–2576 and USA–314

On May 16, 2024, Cosmos–2576 launched into a coplanar orbit with USA–314, a U.S. government satellite.^[21] Pentagon officials described Cosmos–2576 as "likely a counter space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit" and said that the Pentagon's "assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads, from 2019 and 2022."^[22] In remarks during a May 20, 2024 UN Security Council vote on a Russian resolution on space security, U.S. ambassador Robert A. Wood echoed the remarks, adding that "Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite."^[23] The Russian foreign ministry denied the claim stating: "Kosmos 2576 is not an anti-satellite weapon, but part of our normal space operations"^[24]

Kosmos–2588 and USA–338

On May 23, 2025, Kosmos-2588 launched into a coplanar orbit with USA-338, a satellite launched a year prior by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office and widely believed to be an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite.^[25][15] According to US satellite tracking firm Slingshot Aerospace, the point of closest approach (POCA) between the two spacecraft was 93.9 km, with a close approach roughly every 4 days. The company stated that they suspected the craft to have a kinetic weapon on board.^[20][26] A later statement from U.S. Space Command did not name the satellite being shadowed but stated: "U.S. Space Command can confirm Russia’s recent launch put a Russian satellite into an orbit near a U.S. government satellite. Russia continues to research, develop, test, and deploy a range of anti-space systems that threaten the security and stability of space."^[20] According to the Russian filing with the United Nations, the satellite was launched "for the solving tasks of the Russian Ministry of Defense."^[27]