US acknowledges orbital weapons while withholding details

The United States has publicly acknowledged for the first time that it operates weapons in orbit, while withholding their identities, capabilities, deployment dates, numbers and intended uses, TechRadar reported.

At a defense conference near Washington, Troy Meink, Secretary of the Air Force, declined to say whether the systems had been tested or to discuss their design and battlefield role. He said the space environment is critical for military and economic security and that the US must be able to operate freely there.

Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation suggested that orbital jammers were likely candidates. Kinetic weapons appeared less probable because an attack could create debris for other spacecraft. The report said this risk has led US officials to favor non-destructive counterspace tools.

The timing was linked to Russian and Chinese counterspace activity. In 2022, Russian hackers disabled tens of thousands of modems tied to the Viasat network. Reports from February 2026 said two Russian satellites had likely intercepted signals from at least a dozen European spacecraft. China's fleet exceeded 1,060 operational satellites by mid-2025, while a US assessment said Russia launched a satellite in 2024 near an American reconnaissance spacecraft.

Clayton Swope of the Aerospace Security Project said the announcement was too vague to have meaningful deterrent value. Neither Russia nor China issued an immediate public response.