Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the U.S. has fielded on-orbit space control weapons.
Why it matters: The comments are an unusually direct public acknowledgment from a senior U.S. official about weapons in orbit. They also put new attention on how the U.S. interprets limits under the Outer Space Treaty.
- Meink made the comment Sept. 15 at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, according to AP.
- He said the U.S. has fielded "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action."
- NPR said the statement breaks from the long-running U.S. practice of ambiguity around space weapons.
- The Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but not all military activity.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said on Sept. 15 that the United States has fielded "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action", according to AP. The remarks came at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
AP reported that Meink did not identify the system, its platform or whether it is kinetic or non-kinetic. The public confirmation stands out because the U.S. has often avoided directly acknowledging weapons in space.
NPR reported that the disclosure breaks from that pattern of ambiguity. NPR published its report on Sept. 16, one day after Meink's remarks.
The comments also land against the backdrop of the Outer Space Treaty. The treaty bans placing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies, but it does not prohibit all military activity in space, according to the treaty text and UN summary page.
AP said China’s Foreign Ministry responded by opposing the weaponization and militarization of outer space.
By the numbers
- Sept. 15 - Date Meink made the remarks, according to AP.
- 1967 - Year the Outer Space Treaty was adopted and opened for signature.
Yes, but: The disclosure does not identify the system, its platform, or whether it is kinetic or non-kinetic.