US Air Force Secretary Meink: US Has a Space Weapon in Orbit
US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has publicly confirmed for the first time that the United States has deployed a space weapon in orbit, giving no details on its type, capabilities or when it was placed there.
RastinewsUS Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has openly acknowledged that the United States has a space weapon in orbit. His remarks mark the first official confirmation that the US possesses a weapon in space.
No details on the type of weapon
Meink did not disclose what the weapon is, how it could be used, its capabilities, or when it was placed in orbit. He said only that it was necessary to protect US forces against hostile acts.
Meink also suggested that unnamed rivals were already working to disable US sensing and command-and-control systems. Senior military officials have previously said Russia and China are planning to significantly expand their military capabilities in space to target US satellites in any future conflict.
A key part of the "Golden Dome" system
The Trump administration argues that space-based capabilities, including interceptor missiles, are a critical part of the "Golden Dome" defense system designed to protect the US from missile and other airborne threats. A Space Force spokesperson had previously said kinetic and non-kinetic methods could be used to "limit, erode and, when necessary, destroy" rivals' capabilities in space.
The 1967 treaty covers only weapons of mass destruction
The 1967 international treaty banned placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but conventional space weapons fell outside that prohibition. Since then, the US, Russia and China have targeted each other's military communications and intelligence satellites using methods not covered by the treaty.
In 2019, the US Space Force was established to protect US assets in space, the first new US armed service branch created in 70 years. In 2025, Trump signed an order expanding the Space Force's mission beyond defense to include offensive capability.
In February, it emerged that two Russian satellites had repeatedly disrupted the communications of more than 12 European satellites since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, interference that reportedly gave Russian intelligence services access to critical data from those satellites. In 2024, the US announced it had detected Russia launching a satellite intended to attack other satellites; Russia has not commented on the claim to date.