The United States has for the first time officially confirmed that it has deployed a weapon in Earth's orbit, marking a significant shift in openly acknowledged military activity in space. US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealed the deployment at a conference on Monday, framing it as necessary to defend US forces against "evolving threats", though he gave no details on the weapon's design or capabilities. China responded swiftly, urging Washington to halt what it called preparations for war in space, warning of the risk of a new arms race beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Officials have not disclosed how the weapon functions, though a Space Force spokesperson said space control could involve "kinetic and non-kinetic means" up to and including destruction of adversary capabilities. Experts speculate it could be an electronic jamming system or, less likely, a physical "kinetic kill vehicle" designed to destroy satellites, though the latter risks generating dangerous debris. The move follows years of concern over Russian and Chinese satellite-disruption programmes, and fits within the Trump administration's broader "Golden Dome" missile defence plans and a 2024 executive order expanding the Space Force's offensive role. The Space Force, established in 2019, protects hundreds of US satellites, while a 1967 treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit but leaves other space weaponry largely unregulated.