Air Force secretary admits US weapons are stationed in outer space

The U.S. military on Monday, for the first time, confirmed it has weapons in space, calling it a “warfighting domain” as officials warned Russia and China against targeting Washington.Air Force Secretary Troy Meink made the revelation during remarks at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in Maryland, where he detailed a push to modernize the Air Force and Space Force in response to advances by U.S. rivals, AI, and the growing use of autonomous weapons. Officials later specifically called out Russia and China, just days before President Donald Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said. “This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”“We will dramatically increase our combat power by adding large numbers of highly autonomous systems,” he said. “Because of the steps we’re taking today, we’ll have a radically different-looking Air Force by 2032.” When pressed later on the historic public acknowledgment, Meink emphasized that his wording had been deliberate, and he declined to go into specifics about the types of weapons the U.S. has in space.“That phrase was very well thought out. So, whatever I said before is what I say again,” he said. “It is critically important that we maintain our dominance not only in the air, but in space, and so we’ve had to take steps to make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that.”“These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands,” a Space Force spokesperson added in remarks to ABC News. “The U.S. has warned about Russian and Chinese weapons testing and operationalization since 2007. Due to their actions, it is no longer a question that space is a warfighting domain. Open communication strengthens deterrence, prevents adversary miscalculation, and normalizes space operations alongside the other services.”The development comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth is carrying out an intensive effort to modernize the military as it pivots to 21st-century warfare, embarking on what he has described as the “comprehensive transformation” of the Pentagon.“I am directing the secretary of the Army to implement a comprehensive transformation strategy, streamline its force structure, eliminate wasteful spending, reform the acquisition process, modernize inefficient defense contracts, and overcome parochial interests to rebuild our Army, restore the warrior ethos, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth said last May.EUROPE PRAYS FOR UNEVENTFUL NATO SUMMIT: ‘NO NEWS IS GREAT NEWS’The modernization effort follows warnings from some experts that the United States could be losing its edge as the dominant world military power.“American military dominance is not a birthright, it’s not assured,” former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall previously told the Washington Examiner. “You have to work to sustain it, and that means taking new technology and applying them as effectively as possible, and accepting the need for change.”