There’s a Space Weapon Circling the Planet. Here's What We Know.
The disclosure adds to tensions with China and Russia as experts warn space-based weapons could trigger a debris-producing arms race.
- On September 14, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the U.S. has deployed "on-orbit space control weapons" to defend American forces, marking the first public confirmation ending decades of speculation.
- This announcement signals a departure from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty's peaceful-use principle, occurring amid an accelerating arms race with China and Russia testing sophisticated offensive capabilities.
- Experts suggest these systems are likely non-destructive jammers, though Aaron Boley of the Outer Space Institute at the University of British Columbia warned kinetic weapons would create dangerous debris similar to Russia's 2021 anti-satellite test.
- China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the U.S. to "stop expanding its military force and preparing for war in outer space," drawing mixed international reactions and cascading arms race concerns.
- Space is now unambiguously a "warfighting domain," officials state, raising questions about treaty compliance as U.S. allies may decide they need similar weapons for protection.
14 Articles
14 Articles
US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed early this month that US Space Force has ‘operational weapons’ in orbit
A New Arms Race is Threatening to Take-off—this time in Outer Space
The world’s ongoing arms race is threatening to extend beyond planet earth—and spillover into outer space. The US has deployed weapons in space and will use them to defend American forces, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said last week, according to Cable News Network (CNN). His comments marked the first public acknowledgment of such capabilities, […]
US Space Weaponization: What It Means to China and Russia?
The United States (US) Air Force Secretary, Troy Meink, recently stated that the US has weapons stationed in Earth’s orbit. Some experts worldwide see it as a shocking development. However, it is not a surprise to the global strategic community at large. Space weaponization, although a new development, has been anticipated for at least a […]
US military confirms existence of orbital weapons
The US military has confirmed for the first time it has deployed weapons in Earth’s orbit, triggering concerns of a global arms race and the militarisation of outer space. Speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference on 14 September 2026, the US secretary of the air force, Troy Meink, said Washington had active “on-orbit,
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