The US has deployed weapons in space, the US military has confirmed, in an extraordinary public announcement that analysts warn will accelerate a high-risk arms race with Russia and China in Earth’s orbit.

The US secretary of the air force, Troy Meink, said Washington had active “on-orbit” weapons, meaning they had been deployed and were circling the globe.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said on Monday at the annual Air, Space, Cyber conference. “This is why the United States now has, on-orbit, space-control weapons.”

Meink said he would not go into the “specifics” of the weapons. However, a US Space Force spokesperson said space control could refer to “employing kinetic [combat] and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities”.

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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/15/us-confirms-first-time-it-has-deployed-weapons-space