Air Force secretary acknowledges the US has weapons in space

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday that the U.S. has weapons stationed in Earth’s orbit, the first public acknowledgment of a capability long assumed to exist after decades of debate over the weaponization of space.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist. This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” Meink said at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, a stark warning to China and Russia. 

“These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands,” a Space Force spokesperson told News. “The U.S. has warned about Russian and Chinese weapons testing and operationalization since 2007. Due to their actions, it is no longer a question that space is a warfighting domain. Open communication strengthens deterrence, prevents adversary miscalculation, and normalizes space operations alongside the other services.”

Earth’s orbit could become contested, national security experts and defense officials have long warned, with adversaries trying to disable or destroy satellites that provide troops with GPS, communications, intelligence and targeting data. Such attacks could also disrupt civilian communications and other systems critical to the global economy.

It’s unclear what kind of weapons the U.S. has placed in orbit or how long they have been deployed.

The prospect of warfare in space has loomed over military planning for decades as satellites have become essential to modern combat. Space weapons can include cyber weapons or lasers. They can also include satellites built to crash into others.

A kinetic conflict in space could also create lasting hazards in orbit. Destroyed satellites can produce debris traveling at extremely high speeds, increasing the risk of collisions and making it more difficult to safely launch and operate spacecraft.