Kosmos 2553 is the satellite that frights NATO.

There is claiming that the mysterious Kosmos 2553 involves a so-called dummy warhead. If that is true and the satellite is a so-called ASAT (Anti-Satellite) or ground-effect EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) weapon that can blind the USA. The detonator could act like a remotely controlled car bomb. The satellite sends its mark that it's in the right position. Then the system takes an encoded detonation order that triggers the bomb. If the system operator wants to destroy large numbers of satellites using that weapon there is no need to be smart. But if the satellite uses some more sophisticated methods like kinetic energy kill systems there is a need for some intelligent technology. 

The Russian Air Force satellite Kosmos (Cosmos) 2553 launched from Plesetsk in 2022. That satellite is at a very high altitude. That trajectory is called the satellite graveyard. Russians say that the "Neitron" radar satellite. However, there is suspicion that the Kosmos 2553 is the test of the ASAT (Anti-satellite) or EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) weapon that can blind the NATO defense. 

The position of the high-orbiting anti-satellite system is the thing that allows the killer satellite to shoot targets below it. Using rockets or some kind of cannons. It's possible. This satellite has multiple missions. Maybe its mission is to jam and observe other satellites. And in wartime, it can destroy other satellites. Or even try to blind the entire USA using the EMP bomb that detonated near the atmosphere. For that, the satellite must only come down and explode. 

Above: The EMP bomb. (GlobalSecurity.org)

The ASAT weapon uses a similar EMP weapon that is used in microwave burst weapons. The system can download electricity to its capacitors and then the system can release that energy to micro- or radio wave transmitters. The high-explosive detonator around the capacitor makes it possible to create very high-power EMP impulses. This kind of system can be installed in the radar system. The satellite can use its maximum transmitter power only once. So, maybe it has two power levels. Maybe the system uses regular transmitters to jam the signals. And then it can detonate the high-energy EMP weapon. 

Or if it involves a nuclear weapon. That weapon can send destructive plasma and radio bursts to the targeted satellites. It can detonate and send the energy burst to satellites below it. That system also destroys  Russia's own communication and spy satellites. But if new satellites are in reserve to fast replace the destroyed satellites that kind of ASAT is a suitable tool. The high-flying satellite can also eavesdrop and jam other satellites. 

 https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/e-bomb-peril-high-power-microwave-weapons

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/putins-mysterious-cosmos-2553-satellite-34259316

https://swfound.org/news/all-news/2024/06/insight-faq-what-we-know-about-russia-s-alleged-nuclear-anti-satellite-weapon

https://russianforces.org/blog/2022/02/cosmos-2553_-_the_first_neitro.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_2553