China and Russia have a message for Washington: keep your weapons out of orbit. The demand came after the U.S. Space Force publicly confirmed, for the first time, that it has deployed weapons in space.
On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, urged the U.S. to "stop preparing for war" in space. The ministry made clear it opposes the "weaponization of outer space, turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race there."
Russia was quick to echo the sentiment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "We are counting on broad international consolidation to continue working toward the complete demilitarization of space," according to The Hill, citing state media. Moscow's position, in its own words: "space must be free of any weapon."
US Reveals New Space Defense Weapon
The criticism landed right after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed on Monday that the U.S. has deployed an on-orbit space-control weapon capable of defending against hostile actions.
Meink didn't share details about the weapon or its launch, but he framed the capability as a response to threats that already exist, including from adversaries such as China and Russia.
"Is there any question . . . about whether or not the Chinese or Russians have been developing these sorts of weapons?" Meink told reporters.
He also sketched out a much different Air Force by 2032, with plans for thousands of autonomous one-way attack weapons and at least 500 autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) in service.
Trump's Golden Dome Fuels Space Arms Debate
The orbital weapons debate has been building for a while. In December, two NATO intelligence services reportedly suspected that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon aimed at disrupting Elon Musk's Starlink constellation. The alleged "zone-effect" weapon could release hundreds of thousands of pellets into Starlink's orbital paths, potentially damaging multiple satellites while also creating widespread debris and risks to other spacecraft. Experts cited in the report question its effectiveness and warn it could disrupt satellites relied on by Russia, China and other nations.
Meanwhile, experts warned that the Trump administration's Golden Dome could encourage other countries to develop similar space-based systems, accelerating the militarization of space. Reports indicated that Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), as well as Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), are believed to be frontrunners in the project.
Notably, the idea of an orbital defense system dates back to former President Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" initiative, which aimed to make nuclear weapons obsolete.
