USA has acknowledged for the first time that it has weapons deployed in orbit, although it keeps secret what they are and how long they have been there. The announcement was made this Monday by the secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meinkduring the conference Air, Space & Cyber held in Maryland. His statements confirm capabilities that the Pentagon had avoided publicly acknowledging until now.
‘We continue to work to be prepared to meet the challenges of evolving threats, wherever they may be found. That’s why The United States now has space control weapons in orbit capable of defending the joint force against the hostile actions of an adversary‘ said Meink.
The secretary presented the revelation as a deterrent measurebut he declined to explain more details or specify how many systems or since when they have been deployed, according to Ars Technica.
‘There are many factors that influence how we talk about these issues. We spent a lot of time talking about how we’re going to talk about them. It is important from a deterrence point of view. But, on the other hand, Me explaining the details of what we’re doing wouldn’t help deterrence, so we’re not going to go into detail about what we do, whether we’ve tried it, whether we haven’t tried it, or anything else.‘ said Meink.
The expression ‘spatial control’ used covers different military actions and does not allow the identification of the weapons deployed. Includes both the protection of one’s own systems and actions against those of the adversary.
‘Space control encompasses the missions necessary to Contest and control the space domain, using kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destructionif necessary. These capabilities can be used for offensive and defensive purposes under the direction of combatant commands,’ explained a spokesperson for the US Space Force, according to the BBC.
What kind of weapons?
The analyst Bleddyn Bowenof the Royal United Services Institutehas indicated to the same medium that it is most likely that it is electronic warfare or radio jamming systems. They would allow communications to be blocked using technology similar to that used from land. It also contemplates a vehicle that destroys satellites through kinetic impact, although considers it less likely due to the dangerous amount of space debris it would generate.
Meink defended the deployment by appealing to the military advances of Russia and China in space. ‘Is there anyone in this room who has any doubt that the Chinese or the Russians have been developing these types of weapons? We have been talking for more than a decade about the Chinese and Russians developing weapons for space and expressing our concerns about it. We must focus on ensuring that we can protect ourselves when operating in that environment,’ Meink responded to a journalist’s question.
In June, the Space Force announced the acceptance for operational use of Meadowlandsa mobile space control system that operates from the ground and is designed to jam satellite communications. Last week, the United States announced that it had held its first exercise Apollo Maneuvers which includes real satellites that maneuvered into orbit within simulated conflict scenarios. It was not said which satellites or what type participated, but it is logical that it will have the ‘space control weapons’ revealed by Meink.
A race between Russia, China and the United States
Already in 2020, the US authorities denounced Russian tests of an apparent anti-satellite weapon in orbit. In 2024 they accused Moscow of deploy operational anti-satellite weapons and warned that it could place a nuclear weapon in space. A detonation in low Earth orbit would endanger thousands of satellites and the International Space Station.
Added to this background is the information known in February about two russian satellites which probably intercepted signals from at least twelve European space vehicles after the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Interesting Engineering, experts warned that there could be obtained sensitive data or even information that would allow taking control of the satellites.
China also operates satellites capable of performing complex maneuvers and approaching US equipment, probably to keep an eye on them. The analysts of the Center for Strategic and International Studies They consider that this technology could be used to act against other space systems.
The announcement also coincides with the push for the US anti-missile defense project. Golden Domewhich plans to include interceptors located in space. Beijing has asked Washington to stop its military space expansion and war preparations, warning of the risk of triggering an arms race in orbit.