The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.
US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink disclosed this on Monday at the Air and Space Cyber Conference in Maryland, saying the weapons were capable of defending American forces against hostile action.
Meink said the US had fielded “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”
He, however, did not disclose the type of weapons deployed or how they operate.
The development comes amid longstanding concerns over the growing military competition in space involving the US, Russia and China.
In 2024, the United States accused Russia of developing a new anti-satellite weapon that could be launched from space.
The White House had said at the time that the threat was not imminent.
The reports raised concerns over potential attacks on satellites, which play a critical role in US infrastructure, communications and other military and civilian operations.
Meink also said the US Air Force was expanding its use of autonomous systems and predicted that the service would look “radically different” by 2032.
He said one-way attack drones could eventually replace artillery as the military’s “primary killer”.
“We are increasing readiness against existing threats,” Meink said.
The US Space Force was established by former President Donald Trump in 2019 as a separate branch of the US military responsible for operations in space.
