The United States has admitted for the first time that it has deployed space control weapons in Earth orbit, marking an unprecedented milestone in the militarization of outer space.
The announcement was made on Monday by Troy Meink, Secretary of the Air Force, during his speech at the Air, Space, and Cybersecurity Conference held in National Harbor, Maryland.
Meink stated that the "orbital" weapon is necessary to protect U.S. forces against hostile actions, but did not disclose any details about the type of system, how many devices there are, or when they were placed in orbit, according to a report from BBC.
The general Douglas Schiess, head of space operations of the Space Force, supported Meink's words and described space as an active battlefield in the face of anti-satellite systems from rival powers.
A spokesperson for the Space Force specified the scope of these capabilities: "Space control encompasses the mission areas necessary to contest and dominate space, using both kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect the adversary's capabilities through disruption, degradation, and even destruction if necessary."
He added: "These capabilities can be used for offensive and defensive purposes under the direction of the commanders in combat."
What kind of weapon could it be?
Experts consulted by the BBC admit that very little is publicly known about the technology.
Bleddyn Bowen, from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, proposed three hypotheses without ruling any out: an electronic warfare platform capable of disrupting radio communications —“if you take away the radio links, a satellite can be quite useless.”
A second possibility would be a kinetic destruction vehicle that physically impacts enemy satellites. Thirdly, it could involve an inspection and capture device similar to the "space towing capability" that China has already demonstrated, through which "a vehicle can approach a satellite, latch onto it, and move it to a different orbit."
Bowen dismissed the kinetic option as the most likely, as it would produce a large amount of debris in orbit.
The space rivalry with Russia and China
The announcement comes at a time of extreme geopolitical tension. Washington has been in an armed conflict with Iran for months and has repeatedly warned Moscow and Beijing about the consequences of supporting Tehran.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in May that "Russia and China, both nuclear-armed states, are aligned with Iran."
In that context, the deployment of the space weapon is interpreted as a deterrent signal aimed precisely at those two powers, which have united diplomatically against Washington at the UN.
China reacted on Tuesday with a direct warning: "We urge the United States to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space," said a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the AFP agency.
Rod Thornton, a professor at King's College London, explained how Russia compensates for its inferiority in satellites: "The Russians have ground-based missiles that can be launched into space to attack satellites in low Earth orbit. They also have ASAT missiles that can be launched from high altitudes by aircraft."
The announced weapon is part of the broader strategy of the Trump administration, which promotes the project "Golden Dome" —a missile defense system with a space component, whose initial cost is estimated at $25 billion and could reach $542 billion in the long term— and an executive order signed last year that expanded the role of the Space Force to include offensive functions.
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but it does not explicitly address conventional weapons, creating a legal gray area that major powers have exploited for decades to develop capabilities that now turn space into the new front of global rivalry.
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