The United States officially confirmed, through a spokesperson for the US Space Force, that it has armed space control systems in orbit. This is the first time that the US military branch dedicated to space confirms the presence of weapons-related military capabilities in space. The statement did not specify the exact nature of these armaments, merely stating that these systems are capable of defending joint forces against hostile actions from adversaries.
According to the text, "space control" encompasses all missions related to the struggle for dominance of the space environment, through kinetic and non-kinetic means that can affect adversary capabilities. These capabilities can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes.
The US Space Force justifies this weapons deployment by citing the presence of its two main geopolitical rivals. China, it states, develops space and counterspace capabilities as part of a military modernization strategy, while Russia considers space a combat domain and believes space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts.
The militarization of space is not a new phenomenon, being almost as old as space exploration itself. Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Washington and Moscow have explored different ways to arm satellites and neutralize those of the adversary. The main concern focused on nuclear weapons in space, which led to the signing of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, which prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
