U.S. confirms for first time it has weapons deployed in space

The U.S. said for the first time Monday that the Space Force has deployed weapons in orbit.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told the Air and Space Cyber Conference that the U.S. has "on-orbit space control weapons," as he outlined a broader push to modernize the Air Force and Space Force in response to advances by U.S. adversaries, AI, and the growing use of autonomous weapons.

He did not specify what kind of weapons in space had been deployed, or when, according to the official Air Force account.

"It's a strategic consideration to not disclose what exactly this is," Juliana Suess at the German Institute of International and Security Affairs and an expert in space security told CNBC.

The capability of the weaponry could range from reversible interference, such as jamming, to kinetic, permanently destructive effects, she said.

"This could be anything. The only thing that we know is that it is based in space, so this is not a sort of missile based on Earth that could hit a satellite in orbit."

Even so, Meink's acknowledgement matters because it marks the official disclosure of a U.S. orbital weapon capability, Suess said, adding that it comes after years of counterspace development and testing by the U.S., China and Russia.

Russia and China could respond by demonstrating their own space capabilities, as they have done previously, though Suess said that she expects their immediate response will be diplomatic, accusing the U.S. of militarizing space and preparing for conflict.

"With the U.S. sort of becoming more open about it, it's now a question of will these states follow suit in that sense and respond and be more open also about their own activity?" she said.

It's unclear why the U.S. acknowledged this now, Victoria Samson, Chief Director at the Secure World Foundation, told CNBC.

"It is possible it's meant to be used as a deterrent effect for adversaries to think twice before interfering with US space systems," Samson said. "I also believe that it's meant to solidify the Space Force as a warfighting branch, as opposed to a military branch that supports other branches.

"In general this is a very destabilizing statement by the United States."

In his address Monday, Meink also described a rapidly accelerating threat environment facing the U.S., saying that adversaries were exploiting new technologies and arguing that the U.S. needed to increase combat power faster and more affordably, including through autonomous systems and cheaper weapons.

"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."

His comments came as governments are reassessing what weapons and defense systems they'll need to defend themselves against an increased threat from hybrid attacks. The fighting in Ukraine in particular has highlighted how warfare is moving more towards autonomous systems, AI and drones.

Boosted by the successful public listing of SpaceX earlier this year – the largest IPO ever – investors are increasingly looking to place bets on the growing commercial space economy.