The US military has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space for the protection of its army.
Air Force Secretary Troy Mank told the Air and Space Cyber Conference in Maryland on Monday that the U.S. has fielded on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint forces against hostile adversary action.
He, however, did not detail what the weapons were or how they work. In 2024, the U.S. said Russia was developing a new anti-satellite weapon that could be launched from space. At that time, the White House said the danger wasn’t imminent.
A US Space Force spokesperson said: “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destruction, if necessary.
MFA Spokesperson’s response to U.S. deployment of weapons in space:
China stands for peaceful use of the outer space and keeping it safe, and opposes any arms race in outer space or any attempt to weaponize it and turn it into a warzone. We urge the U.S. to stop its military… pic.twitter.com/KPAhSW4khH
— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) September 15, 2026
“These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands.”
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But reports of the anti-satellite weapons reflected longstanding worries about space threats from Russia and China, given that much of the U.S. infrastructure is dependent on satellite communications. Mank also said that the Air Force was adding more autonomous systems to its capabilities and predicted the service would look radically different by 2032.
For example, he foresaw one-way attack drones replacing artillery as the primary killer. However, China has responded on Tuesday by warning against an arms race in space. U.S. however has not specified when these weapons were placed, how many are there, or what they are designed to do.
China has warned not to turn the space into a battlefield, while Russia said it must remain free of weapons after the United States confirmed it has deployed arms in orbits.
“We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space,” AFP quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
