Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced Monday that the Department of the Air Force has deployed on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against “hostile adversary action.”
Meink made the disclosure during a keynote address at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. He offered no additional details about the weapons, saying only that the phrasing was “well thought out.”
“It is critically important that we maintain our dominance not only in the air but in space, and so that we’ve had to take steps to make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that,” Meink said during his speech.
During a media roundtable after the keynote, Meink declined to comment on the type of weapons or why the announcement was made now. He also did not say when the weapons were launched or how many are in orbit.
Meink said the U.S. has been aware for more than a decade that adversaries such as China and Russia were developing capabilities to threaten U.S. systems.
“We need to maintain dominance in space as it becomes more and more important to how we function, how we operate militarily and economically, civilian-wise,” he told reporters.
Meink’s statement is the most direct public acknowledgment by a U.S. official to date regarding space control weapons, according to Defense News.
Sources: Defense News · Air Force Times · Air & Space Forces Magazine · Air Force Times