U.S. Air Force Secretary Confirms Deployment of Space Weapon
The U.S. Air Force announced that a weapon has been placed in orbit, describing it as essential for protecting American forces against hostile actions in space.
The United States has acknowledged that it has placed a weapon in Earth orbit, marking the first public admission of an offensive space capability. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the system is required to protect U.S. forces from hostile enemy activity, though he did not provide details on its function or deployment timeline.
Meink made the remarks at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, emphasizing the need to address "evolving threats" in the space domain. Senior military officials have previously indicated plans to expand space-based capabilities in response to Russian and Chinese programs that aim to disrupt or attack U.S. satellites.
The Trump administration had earlier described space-based interceptors as a core element of the "Golden Dome" defense architecture intended to shield the United States from missile and other airborne threats. A 1967 treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but major powers have continued to explore other forms of space weaponry, including systems that could target rival satellites used for communications, surveillance and navigation.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Space Force said the branch’s mission includes "space control" that may employ kinetic and non-kinetic means to disrupt, degrade or destroy adversary capabilities, and that such capabilities can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes under combatant command direction.
Recent reports have highlighted Russian activity in space, including alleged interception of European satellite communications and the launch of a satellite that U.S. officials believe could attack other probes. Russia has not commented on these allegations.