The United States has publicly acknowledged for the first time that it has weapons deployed in Earth's orbit, marking a significant shift in Washington's posture on the militarisation of space. US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink made the admission at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Monday, saying the on-orbit capability was necessary to protect US forces against hostile enemy action. A US Space Force spokesperson confirmed the weapons exist but offered no specifics on their nature, number, or when they were placed in orbit, saying only that they were capable of defending "the Joint Force against hostile adversary action" and could be used for both offensive and defensive purposes.

A source cited by The Washington Post suggested the systems may include weapons capable of disabling other countries' satellites if those satellites are used against American assets or troops. The Space Force's statement described its mission as one of "contesting and controlling the space domain" through "kinetic and non-kinetic means" — language that covers everything from signal jamming and laser systems to direct physical destruction of rival spacecraft. The announcement fits within a broader strategic framework: former President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year explicitly framing the US Space Force, established in 2019 as the newest branch of the American military, as not only a defensive force but an offensive one.

The backdrop to Monday's disclosure is a rapidly evolving competition in orbit. Washington has pointed to Russian satellites that have likely intercepted the communications of at least a dozen European satellites since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and to a Russian satellite launched in 2024 that US officials believe may be capable of attacking other spacecraft. China, meanwhile, is described by the Space Force as developing counterspace capabilities as a core element of its military modernisation. The militarisation of space dates to the late 1950s, when the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957 immediately prompted both Washington and Moscow to explore ways to arm and destroy satellites. A landmark 1967 international treaty — the Outer Space Treaty — banned weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but left open a broad range of other military capabilities that Russia, the US, China, and India have since pursued.

The announcement has drawn immediate concern from arms-control experts. Victoria Samson, director of space security at the Secure World Foundation, noted that no US government official had previously made such a statement, and warned of the consequences: "The US also now has to accept that the Chinese and Russians will do and say the same. I don't think that will be in the interest of American national security." The disclosure also comes as the Trump administration promotes its "Golden Dome" missile defence concept, which envisions space-based interceptors as a key layer of protection against airborne threats — a project critics say risks accelerating an arms race far beyond Earth's atmosphere.