US confirms weapons in orbit as rivalry with Russia and China extends into space

For the first time, the United States has publicly acknowledged that it has weapons deployed in orbit, designed for space defense and control.

The confirmation came from the U.S. Space Force, which said that US space-based capabilities could be activated to protect US forces against hostile actions by adversaries.

A Space Force spokesperson said that “the United States possesses on-orbit space control weapons capable of protecting the Joint Force from hostile actions by adversaries,” but did not disclose either their type or number.

Russia and China considered the main threats

Under the Space Force’s definition, space control encompasses a range of military capabilities intended to enable the US to compete and secure superiority in this domain.

This category may include kinetic and non-kinetic systems that can be used to limit or damage an adversary’s space capabilities.

Washington stresses that these systems may be used in both defensive and offensive operations.

China and Russia, Washington’s two main strategic rivals, are regarded as among the most serious threats to US interests in space.

The Space Force assesses that China, as part of the modernization of its military forces, is developing and employing a broad range of space and counterspace capabilities.

Russia, meanwhile, regards space as a potential arena for warfare and believes that securing superiority there could prove decisive in future conflicts.

Military presence in space began decades ago

The military use of space is not a new phenomenon, as its beginnings practically coincide with the space race between the US and the Soviet Union.

The launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 prompted both superpowers to examine not only ways to protect their satellites, but also techniques for damaging or destroying their adversary’s space systems.

For many decades, one of the main concerns was the possibility that nuclear weapons could be placed in orbit.

The US, the Soviet Union and other countries signed the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit.

However, the treaty’s provisions do not ban every category of weapon or military system in space.

Satellites gain strategic importance

Over the years, major powers have developed various technologies that could be used during conflicts in space.

Satellites play a particularly important role for modern militaries because they enable communications, navigation, reconnaissance, surveillance and data transmission.

As a result, the ability to safeguard a country’s satellites and, in the event of a confrontation, damage or disrupt an adversary’s space capabilities is becoming increasingly important.

The latest statement by the U.S. Space Force shows that military competition is no longer taking place only on land, at sea, in the air and in cyberspace. Space has also become a major front in the strategic rivalry between the world’s major powers.