Beijing, China: China has urged the United States to stop expanding its military capabilities in outer space and “preparing for war” after Washington publicly confirmed that the US Space Force has deployed operational weapons in orbit.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on 15 September, 2026 that Beijing opposes the weaponisation of space, turning it into a battlefield and starting an arms race. “We urge the US side to stop expanding its military buildup in outer space and safeguard global strategic stability with concrete actions,” Guo said. China has also reiterated that it supports the peaceful use of outer space and opposes efforts to turn it into a war zone.
The warning followed US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink’s disclosure on 14 September, 2026 at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, that the Space Force now has “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.” Meink said the wording of the announcement was deliberate and important for deterrence. “It is critically important that we maintain our dominance, not only in the air but in space,” he said.
The US has not disclosed what the weapon is, what satellite or spacecraft carries it, how many systems are in orbit, or whether the capability is kinetic or non-kinetic. Meink declined to say whether the system had been tested and said that revealing operational details would undermine its deterrent purpose. “We’re not going to talk about the specifics of what we’re doing, whether we’ve tested, not tested, or anything else,” he said.
A US official cited by The Washington Post said “space control” could include taking out an adversary’s satellite if it were being used to target US troops or another American satellite. However, that does not establish that the newly acknowledged weapon is an anti-satellite interceptor. The exact capability remains classified.
The disclosure comes as Washington and Beijing expand preparations for possible conflict in space. An investigation found that Chinese military-linked institutions are developing technologies including satellites capable of pursuing or potentially capturing other spacecraft. In June, a secretive Chinese spaceplane released a small satellite that reportedly manoeuvred around another Chinese satellite before returning towards the spaceplane.
The US and its allies are also developing increasingly advanced orbital capabilities. The US and Britain had conducted a joint military operation involving a suspected Chinese surveillance satellite, while American and Chinese forces are developing maneuverable spacecraft, satellite-jamming capabilities and other counter-space technologies. US officials have described China’s growing space capabilities as a significant threat to American satellites.
Washington is separately developing the Space-Based Interceptor under the Golden Dome missile-defence architecture. Meink said the programme had moved from an initial contract to flight-ready hardware in less than a year, with an initial capability potentially targeted for 2028. The US is also beginning deployment of a Space-Based Air Moving Target Indication constellation, but these programmes are distinct from the already deployed “on-orbit space control weapons” Meink disclosed on 14 September, 2026.
The latest exchange marks a significant escalation in the public discussion around military activity in orbit, Washington has acknowledged an operational orbital weapons capability without identifying the system, while Beijing is warning that such deployments risk turning outer space into a battlefield and triggering a new arms race.
