The arms race reaches space: The Trump administration confirms the deployment of weapons in orbit and challenges China and Russia

U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed Monday that the United States has already deployed a weapon in space, marking the first public acknowledgment by a U.S. official that Washington possesses an operational space-based weapons capability. His remarks came during the Annual Air, Space, and Cybersecurity Conference, held in National Harbor, Maryland, where he presented a broader plan to rapidly expand and modernize U.S. military capabilities.

Although Meink did not disclose what type of weapon was deployed or when it was placed in orbit, the secretary defended this capability as part of the Armed Forces' efforts to respond to potential threats, noting that the system would help "make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that." Meink also stated, "We are increasing readiness against existing threats and the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary actions."

The secretary's statements prompted immediate reactions from the Chinese and Russian governments, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that Moscow believes "space must be free" of weapons and noting that "We count on continued broad international consensus to keep working toward the complete demilitarization of space."

For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday that Beijing supports the peaceful use of outer space and opposes efforts to introduce weapons into orbit, asserting that "China upholds the peaceful use of outer space and its security, and opposes any arms race in outer space or any attempt to turn it into a theater of war."

During the event, Meink also argued that the United States must respond more quickly to technological changes on the battlefield, especially as rival countries develop new capabilities. According to Meink, this effort will include the deployment of a greater number of autonomous systems and the production of lower-cost weapons. "We will dramatically increase our combat power by adding large numbers of highly autonomous systems. Because of the steps we’re taking today, we’ll have a radically different-looking Air Force by 2032," said the secretary, who also suggested that both the Chinese and the Russians have been developing this type of weaponry over the past few years.