The U.S. military has for the first time acknowledged that it deployed a space weapon into Earth’s orbit.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who oversees the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, said in a speech Monday that the military has “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”
Meink did not say what the weapons are, what they do, or how many of them have been deployed, but Meink’s phrasing was reportedly intentional and “very well thought out.” A spokesperson for the Air Force did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment, including what threats the Air Force was responding to by launching the weapon.
The deployment comes as China is long suspected of operating spacecraft capable of causing damage to other satellites. The U.S. Space Force says Russia is currently developing a satellite “designed to carry a nuclear weapon.”
According to The Times, the U.S. had long disavowed the destruction of satellites in space as attacks can leave debris harmful to other space objects and astronauts.