The United States has confirmed it deployed a space weapon in Earth’s orbit — the first time it has publicly acknowledged such offensive capabilities, the BBC, CNN, and The Guardian reported, citing remarks Monday by Air Force Secretary Troy Meink.
Speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Meink said the United States now has “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” He did not describe how the systems work or when they were put into orbit.
A U.S. Space Force spokesperson said space control covers contesting the domain with kinetic and non-kinetic tools that can disrupt, degrade, or even destroy adversary capabilities if directed by combatant commands. China responded Tuesday by urging Washington to stop expanding military capabilities in outer space and warned against an arms race, AFP quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit but does not cover every counterspace tool. Analysts note Russia and China have practiced lasers, jamming, and other satellite-threatening maneuvers for years; Meink’s disclosure is widely read as a deliberate signal amid those concerns and the Trump administration’s broader “Golden Dome” missile-defense push.
Sources: BBC; CNN; The Guardian
Leave a Reply