US Claims Military Capabilities in Orbit

The U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink, revealed yesterday, Monday, September 14, that the United States possessed “space-control weapons in orbit capable of defending joint forces against any hostile action by an adversary” ¹.

This marks the first time the American military has acknowledged having weapons deployed in orbit.

• Meink’s remarks resemble a warning to Russia and China, who are also investing to strengthen their space military programs.
• Several experts, including CSIS researcher Clayton Swope, nevertheless consider Meink’s statements too “vague” to deter Moscow and Beijing effectively ².
• Indeed, he refused to specify which capabilities the United States possessed, and simply stated that the “measures taken” by Washington were aimed at “preserving its supremacy in space.”

According to an American official, these capabilities could allow the United States to destroy an enemy satellite “if it was used to target American troops or an American satellite” ³.

• Victoria Samson, director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation, argues that these would more likely be jammers, a non-kinetic weapon that can neutralize a satellite without creating debris ⁴.
• These capabilities could also constitute the first step of Donald Trump’s Golden Dome, with Meink having stated that there is now ready-to-use hardware for space interceptors.

The U.S. military regards access to space and its use as a “vital national interest,” explicitly naming China and Russia as the two main powers threatening the development of American capabilities.

This announcement could accelerate the race to develop space weapons.

• Washington believes that the People’s Liberation Army is developing its own space and anti-space capabilities to be able to conduct long-range precision strikes and to block satellite communications for other militaries.
• U.S. intelligence also believes that Moscow “is engaging in research, development, testing and deployment of anti-space systems to exploit the perceived vulnerability of the United States’ dependence on space” ⁵.
• In April, U.S. Space Command commander Stephen Whiting had stated that Russia had deployed operational anti-satellite weapons aimed at American satellites. At the same time, the U.S. military was practicing a simulated exercise to respond to Moscow’s use of its “presumed nuclear anti-space capability” ⁷.