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What weapon could the US have put into space?
Confirmed
In Short: The US Air Force has confirmed the deployment of 'space control weapons' in Earth's orbit, marking a significant step in the militarization of space and raising concerns among international partners.
The US Space Force's website notes that China and Russia are developing new space systems to enhance military effectiveness and end any reliance on US space services. In response, Russia called for space to be kept "free of any weapons," while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged for broad international consolidation to continue working towards the complete demilitarization of space.
Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesman, told a news briefing, "We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space." The confirmation of space weapons has sparked concerns among international partners, who fear the potential for increased tensions and conflicts in space.
The US has not provided specific details about the nature of the weapons, their location, or their intended purpose. Meink stated, "This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action." However, he did not give any further details, leaving many questions unanswered.
The deployment of these weapons in space could have significant implications for global security, particularly given the potential for kinetic weapons to create dangerous debris. According to reports, kinetic weapons, such as a suicide satellite designed to ram into an adversary's satellite, would likely cause fast-moving debris to be launched dangerously into space.
What's confirmed
- “Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
What's still developing
- US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed on Monday that the so-called “space control weapons” would be used to defend US forces on the planet, marking a significant new chapter in the militarisation of space – or at least the transparency of it.
- “Space Force doctrine describes ‘space control’ as having the outcome of space superiority, which they define as the ability to operate at the time and place of their choosing, while denying the same to an adversary,” Victoria Samson, chief director of Space Security and Stability for Secure World Foundation, a private non-profit focused on military space and security issues, told Al Jazeera.
- Air Force Secretary Meink said the US has stationed “weapons” in Earth’s orbit, but did not specify when they were placed there, how many there are, or what they are designed to do.
- Samson said the keyword from Meink’s announcement is “weapons” in the context of “space control”.
- “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities,” Meink said, adding that “these capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes”.
- “That’s the first time any official has acknowledged an actually designed weapon has been placed in space,” Samson told Al Jazeera.
- So, what do we know about the US-deployed weapons in space?
- “I would just say that the space environment is critical for military and economic security, and we need to make sure that the US can operate freely there,” Meink said.