US confirms it has deployed weapons in orbit for first time

The US Air Force has publicly confirmed for the first time that it has deployed "on-orbit space control weapons," according to Secretary Troy Meink. The announcement, made at a defence conference, has drawn warnings from China and analysts that it will accelerate an arms race in space with Russia and China.

Bottom line — The US confirmation of orbital weapons is likely to push Russia and China to deploy or reveal their own, per analysts.

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• Meink did not specify what the weapons are, how many are deployed, or when they entered service, per the official Air Force account.
• A US Space Force spokesperson said space control could involve "kinetic and non-kinetic means" to affect adversary capabilities, per the BBC.
• China's foreign ministry accused Washington of "preparing for war in outer space" and warned against an arms race, per Reuters.
• Space law expert Laetitia Cesari told the BBC that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty only bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit, leaving a "regulatory vacuum" for other weapons.
• Analyst Jonathan McDowell said Russia and China would "respond in kind" and deploy comparable systems, if they don't already have them, per the Guardian.
• The US Space Force was created in 2019, and last year President Trump issued an executive order framing it as an attacking force, per the BBC.
• The US is aiming to quadruple annual rocket launches to about 200 per year, which would require new launch sites and upgrades, per the Air Force.
• China is developing military satellites with robotic arms that could pull rival satellites out of orbit, per Foreign Policy magazine.
• There are nearly 15,000 operational satellites and up to 10,000 defunct ones in orbit, plus about 500,000 pieces of debris 1–10 cm, per NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office.

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