Announcement by the Trump administration: USA confirms weapons in space for the first time

dpa | According to US media, Washington has officially confirmed the stationing of weapons in space for the first time. Air Force State Secretary Troy Meink's statement was seen as a warning to China and Russia. The weapons are necessary to protect US armed forces and in response to “evolving threats,” Meink reportedly said during a conference in the US state of Maryland on Monday (local time).

“Today we continue to ensure that we are ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats, wherever they arise,” said Meink. “As a result, the United States now has orbiting space control weapons that can defend military forces from hostile actions by adversaries.”

Meink left details about the weapons or when they would be deployed open, but emphasized the importance of the step for “deterrence,” as the Washington Post reported. It is possible that the US military has, among other things, the ability to destroy enemy satellites if they target US troops or US satellites, an unnamed government official told the newspaper.

The announcement focuses on the US Space Force (USSF), founded in 2019 under President Donald Trump, whose top civilian boss is Meink. The USSF is designed to protect American interests in space, which is considered critical to national security. The USSF website names China and Russia as threats, as they expanded their military effectiveness in space. It is said that Russia sees space as a theater of future conflicts.

On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry, when asked about the Space Force's assessment of the US, called on it to stop arming in space. China is consistently committed to the peaceful use and security of outer space and rejects the militarization of outer space, said spokesman Guo Jiakun in Beijing.

Security experts have been warning for decades that Earth's orbit could become a theater of war. The reason is the growing dependence of modern armed forces on satellites for navigation, communication and reconnaissance. Attacks could also disrupt civilian communications and other systems critical to the global economy.