Russia Says a Space Arms Race Can Still Be Stopped — After the US Admits It Has Orbital Weapons

.

US Officials Confirm Weapons Are Already in Orbit

For the first time, senior American defense officials have publicly acknowledged that the United States keeps weapons in Earth orbit. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said at a conference near Washington that the country "now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action." He gave no further details about the systems involved.

A day later, Space Force chief General Douglas Schiess added that enlisted service members already "operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the Joint Force against space-enabled attacks." He said the branch would keep expanding its orbital arsenal, but stressed that future steps would be "disciplined and responsible."

Neither official said what kind of weapons the U.S. has deployed, how many exist, or when they were launched. Analysts describe the statements as a turning point after decades in which U.S. officials avoided discussing offensive space capabilities at all.

Why Washington Broke Its Silence

According to Space Force leadership, the decision to speak openly follows rapid growth in Chinese and Russian anti-satellite technology. Washington argues that both countries have been building systems capable of jamming, blinding, or even capturing satellites for years, forcing the U.S. to respond from what Schiess called "a position of strength."

The revelation lands as the Trump administration pushes ahead with the "Golden Dome" missile-defense initiative, a large-scale program meant to shield the U.S. and its allies from advanced missile threats, including from space. Supporters see the new candor about orbital weapons as consistent with that approach: matching rivals' capabilities openly, rather than pretending they don't exist.

Independent space-policy analysts note that no country has yet been confirmed to have physically attacked another nation's satellite. But jamming, laser-blinding and satellite-capture technologies are already considered part of the standard toolkit among major space powers.

Russia's Response: "Nothing New to Us"

Speaking in Moscow on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the United States had not formally notified Russia about its weapons capability. He added, however, that the announcement came as no surprise.

"This is nothing new to us; we are monitoring all of this, recording it all, and drawing the appropriate conclusions," Ryabkov said. He argued that Moscow has long pushed for a binding treaty ruling out the use of force, or the threat of force, against objects in space.

Ryabkov also accused the U.S. and its allies — naming Britain specifically — of using what he called "inflammatory excuses" to avoid serious treaty talks for years, while turning around and accusing Russia of destabilizing behavior in orbit.

"We believe that it is not yet too late to create an environment that would preclude an arms race with escalating risks of open conflict in outer space," he said.

A Track Record Worth Remembering

Russia's renewed call for a treaty deserves some context. In 2024, Moscow vetoed a UN Security Council resolution — backed by the United States and Japan — that would have called on all nations to avoid placing nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit. Russia dismissed that resolution as politically motivated and pushed for a broader ban covering all weapon types instead, an amendment that failed to gain enough support.

Ryabkov also used Wednesday's briefing to say there is currently no active U.S.-Russia dialogue on strategic stability at all, and that reviving one depends on Washington's willingness to improve relations with Moscow more broadly.

China, for its part, has said it opposes any arms race in space. At the same time, U.S. officials describe Beijing's own counter-space program as one of the fastest-growing in the world, built under a Communist Party leadership that has shown little appetite for verifiable arms-control commitments in other areas either.

What Happens Next

No treaty negotiations have been scheduled, and Washington has given no indication it plans to give up its newly confirmed capability. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by both the U.S. and Russia, already bans placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit — but it does not cover the kind of conventional "space control" systems Meink and Schiess described this week.

For now, the public admission itself marks the biggest shift: after years of official silence, Washington, Moscow and Beijing are all now openly discussing capabilities they once preferred to leave unconfirmed. Whether that openness leads to new arms-control talks, or simply accelerates the buildup further, remains to be seen.

.

Sources

1. Reuters – Russia says there is still time to stop an arms race in space after US orbital weapons admission: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-says-there-is-still-time-stop-an-arms-race-space-after-us-orbital-weapons-2026-09-16/
2. Space.com – US Space Force says it operates weapons in orbit: 'Our aim is deterrence': https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/us-space-force-says-it-operates-weapons-in-orbit-our-aim-is-deterrence
3. Defense One – 'It was time' to admit US has weapons in orbit, Space Force's new leader says: https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2026/09/orbit-weapons-space-force-leader/415999/
4. TASS – Arms race in space can still be prevented, opportunity not yet missed — MFA: https://tass.com/politics/2188351

.