The Secretary of the United States Air Force, Troy Meink, on Monday officially acknowledged for the first time that the U.S. Space Force has "space control" weapons deployed in orbit, in an announcement that marks a historic milestone in the militarization of space and prompted immediate reactions from China and Russia.
Meink made the revelation during his keynote speech at the 2026 Aerospace, Space, and Cyber Conference, held at National Harbor, Maryland. The Air Force Department itself confirmed in a statement that it was the first time a official publicly acknowledged this deployment.
«We are enhancing our preparedness against existing threats, and the United States has space control weapons in orbit capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile actions from adversaries,» stated Meink before attendees at the annual meeting organized by the Air and Space Forces Association.
The secretary did not provide any details about the deployed systems: he did not specify what type of weapons they are, how many are in orbit, or when they were placed there. He also did not clarify whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic systems.
Meink emphasized the urgency of responding to adversaries who are advancing at an unprecedented pace. "The threat is actually changing faster than I thought possible when I took on this role 18 months ago," he warned.
The Space Force states on its website that China "develops and operates space and anti-space capabilities as part of a military modernization strategy," while Russia "views space as a domain of warfare and believes that space superiority will be a decisive factor in future conflicts."
In 2024, according to a report from CNN, U.S. intelligence had detected Russian efforts to develop a nuclear space weapon based on an electromagnetic pulse capable of disabling large numbers of satellites, something that Moscow denied.
Along with the recognition of weapons in orbit, Meink announced other advancements in the space program. The space-based interceptor system has, in his words, "moved from the initial contract to flight-ready hardware in less than a year." Additionally, he confirmed that this month the launches will begin for a constellation aimed at detecting and tracking mobile targets from orbit.
The announcement is part of the "Golden Dome" project promoted by President Donald Trump, an ambitious missile defense shield with an estimated cost of 175 billion dollars, inspired by Israel's Iron Dome. Trump hopes to have it operational by 2028, and the Pentagon has scheduled its first major test just before the elections that year.
The legal framework of the announcement also sparks debate. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits nuclear and mass destruction weapons in orbit, but it does not explicitly cover conventional weapons, creating a legal gap that the U.S. deployment takes advantage of.
The reaction from rival powers was immediate. China, through its spokesperson Guo Jiakun, demanded that Washington cease expanding its military capabilities and "prepare for a war in outer space." Meanwhile, the Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, called for space to remain "free of any weapons" and advocated for its complete "demilitarization."
It is vital that we maintain our dominance not only in the air but also in space, which is why we have had to take measures to ensure that, when we are threatened, we can respond to that threat, concluded Meink.
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