Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said on Monday that the United States has deployed on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action, in the first public acknowledgment that the country has an offensive capability in space.
Meink made the announcement at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference. It was the first time the US Space Force had confirmed that such capabilities are present in orbit, and the most direct public statement by a US official on space control weapons to date.
A US Space Force spokesperson said: “The US has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action”. The spokesperson said the capabilities could be used for both offensive and defensive purposes.
Meink said disclosure was important for deterrence. The announcement was characterised as a warning to China and Russia, which Meink said have spent more than a decade developing capabilities that could threaten US systems.
The US has previously warned that China and Russia were testing and putting into operation weapons and other systems in space. A Space Force spokesperson said: “The U.S. has warned about Russian and Chinese weapons testing and operationalization since 2007”.
Those concerns have included reports of offensive manoeuvres in orbit, including lasers and jamming that could place US satellites at risk. Space weapons can include cyber weapons, lasers and satellites designed to crash into other satellites.
Space control covers the missions needed to contest and control the space domain, using kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect an adversary’s capabilities. A US official said the capability could include destroying an enemy satellite if it were being used to target American troops or a US satellite.
Meink gave no details on the weapons themselves. He did not say what had been placed in orbit, when any weapons were launched, how many are in operation or how long they have been deployed. He also declined to discuss the type of weapons or why the announcement was made now.
The disclosure therefore sets out a broad policy position while leaving the practical scope of the US capability classified. The exact platforms or vehicles carrying the weapons, their technical capabilities, any operational testing and the commands directing their use remain unknown.
The development comes within a legal framework established by the Outer Space Treaty, which was signed in 1967 by superpowers and other countries and bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
Meink’s statement places the US openly among states pursuing the means to defend and contest military activity in orbit. The administration presented the disclosure as part of deterrence, with space dominance characterised as necessary for military and economic security.
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