The Space Security Landscape Is Deteriorating Rapidly

Por Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan — The Diplomat

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With the United States announcing that it has deployed “on-orbit space control weapons,” the space arms race now appears to be fully underway. 

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink delivers a keynote address during the 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference at the National Harbor, Md., Sept 14, 2026.

There is little doubt that great power competition is ramping up. Now, another front has opened, with the United States announcing that it has deployed a space weapon. China, and subsequently Russia, had been pushing the limits in space, testing advanced technologies with possible offensive uses in outer space, including cyber weapons, ground-based lasers, and artificial robotic arms that could be used for repairing satellites but also have obvious military and intelligence uses. Now the U.S. has responded by joining the developing arms race, which is likely to spur further competition.

The space arms race now appears to be fully underway. 

The acknowledgement of U.S. space weapons was made by U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink. He revealed that the U.S. Space Force has launched “space control weapons” into orbit. Delivering a keynote address at a recent Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) conference, Meink said that “the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” 

Not surprisingly, he justified this step with reference to the threats from China and Russia, both of which “continue to demonstrate aggressive maneuvers and are developing – and demonstrating – space weapons of their own.” 

Meink is not the only U.S. official who has talked about these new space weapons. 

Addressing the “State of the Space Force” at the AFA conference, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess made an unequivocal claim that the U.S. Space Force “uses active space-based weaponry to support United States national defense.” He noted the “increasingly contested” space domain where adversaries have technologies that are meant to disrupt or destroy satellites in orbit. He also made a mention of hypersonic weapons that pose a threat to the United States and its allies and partners. 

While details are scanty and there has been no elaboration of the weapon systems that have been launched, this is clearly a recognition of and a response to what Russia and China have been doing in terms of their own space weapons. In fact, Meink dismissed ideas from journalists that the U.S. announcement of developing space control weapons could give permission to its adversaries pursuing space weapons. The race is already on.

Space is central to U.S. national security and war fighting efforts. The domain represents essential eyes and ears for military operations, which meant that the United States could not afford to ignore China and Russia’s threats and advancements. 

Threats to national assets in outer space have grown rapidly and are very diverse today. Just as the world seemed as if it was outgrowing fears about nuclear weapons, it was revealed that Russia was developing and potentially deploying nuclear anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons. If used, such weapons can result in the indiscriminate destruction of entire satellite orbits. These developments were revealed in February 2024 by U.S. intelligence officials. 

Kinetic anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons have also made a comeback since the first successful ASAT test by China in January 2007. China in effect broke an unwritten moratorium that had been in place since the 1980s. Since the Chinese ASAT test, others followed: the U.S. (2008), India (2019), and Russia (2021). The Russian ASAT test, using the A-235 / PL-19 Nudol kinetic interceptor missile system, resulted in the creation of “more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris” according to a statement from U.S. Space Command. The United States saw this as a direct effort to target it.

Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Space Command, stated that “Russia is developing and deploying capabilities to actively deny access to and use of space by the United States and its allies and partners.” He added that the test was a clear demonstration of the Russian pursuit of counterspace weapons that “undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations.”

Both the Chinese and Russian ASAT tests were also conducted at a higher altitude – 865 km and 480 km respectively – which would mean that the debris generated as a result would stay afloat in space orbits for decades because the atmosphere drag at that altitude is lower. 

In addition, there is an entire range of non-kinetic counterspace weapons that have been deployed in space, causing innumerable incidents of interference, disruptions, and destruction of space assets. Non-kinetic weapons include electromagnetic pulses, high-powered lasers, and high-powered microwaves, in addition to electronic and cyber options including jamming and spoofing as well as data interception and/or corruption and taking full control of data. All of these weapons have been employed and there have been growing incidents of space interference as far back as 2008. Attribution is difficult but many of these threats are thought to be sourced from Russia and China. 

Therefore, while the open U.S. claim about deployment of space weapons have made headlines everywhere, with many even suggesting that this will push Russia and China to develop such weapons, the reality is that Beijing and Moscow have been developing and employing these weapons, all while using the rhetoric of non-weaponization and peaceful use of space. Calls for non-weaponization and getting more countries to see the benefits of keeping space safe, secure, and sustainable are important, but this effort is increasingly being overtaken by a space arms race that now appears inevitable. 

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There is little doubt that great power competition is ramping up. Now, another front has opened, with the United States announcing that it has deployed a space weapon. China, and subsequently Russia, had been pushing the limits in space, testing advanced technologies with possible offensive uses in outer space, including cyber weapons, ground-based lasers, and artificial robotic arms that could be used for repairing satellites but also have obvious military and intelligence uses. Now the U.S. has responded by joining the developing arms race, which is likely to spur further competition.

The space arms race now appears to be fully underway. 

The acknowledgement of U.S. space weapons was made by U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink. He revealed that the U.S. Space Force has launched “space control weapons” into orbit. Delivering a keynote address at a recent Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) conference, Meink said that “the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” 

Not surprisingly, he justified this step with reference to the threats from China and Russia, both of which “continue to demonstrate aggressive maneuvers and are developing – and demonstrating – space weapons of their own.” 

Meink is not the only U.S. official who has talked about these new space weapons. 

Addressing the “State of the Space Force” at the AFA conference, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess made an unequivocal claim that the U.S. Space Force “uses active space-based weaponry to support United States national defense.” He noted the “increasingly contested” space domain where adversaries have technologies that are meant to disrupt or destroy satellites in orbit. He also made a mention of hypersonic weapons that pose a threat to the United States and its allies and partners. 

While details are scanty and there has been no elaboration of the weapon systems that have been launched, this is clearly a recognition of and a response to what Russia and China have been doing in terms of their own space weapons. In fact, Meink dismissed ideas from journalists that the U.S. announcement of developing space control weapons could give permission to its adversaries pursuing space weapons. The race is already on.

Space is central to U.S. national security and war fighting efforts. The domain represents essential eyes and ears for military operations, which meant that the United States could not afford to ignore China and Russia’s threats and advancements. 

Threats to national assets in outer space have grown rapidly and are very diverse today. Just as the world seemed as if it was outgrowing fears about nuclear weapons, it was revealed that Russia was developing and potentially deploying nuclear anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons. If used, such weapons can result in the indiscriminate destruction of entire satellite orbits. These developments were revealed in February 2024 by U.S. intelligence officials. 

Kinetic anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons have also made a comeback since the first successful ASAT test by China in January 2007. China in effect broke an unwritten moratorium that had been in place since the 1980s. Since the Chinese ASAT test, others followed: the U.S. (2008), India (2019), and Russia (2021). The Russian ASAT test, using the A-235 / PL-19 Nudol kinetic interceptor missile system, resulted in the creation of “more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris” according to a statement from U.S. Space Command. The United States saw this as a direct effort to target it.

Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Space Command, stated that “Russia is developing and deploying capabilities to actively deny access to and use of space by the United States and its allies and partners.” He added that the test was a clear demonstration of the Russian pursuit of counterspace weapons that “undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations.”

Both the Chinese and Russian ASAT tests were also conducted at a higher altitude – 865 km and 480 km respectively – which would mean that the debris generated as a result would stay afloat in space orbits for decades because the atmosphere drag at that altitude is lower. 

In addition, there is an entire range of non-kinetic counterspace weapons that have been deployed in space, causing innumerable incidents of interference, disruptions, and destruction of space assets. Non-kinetic weapons include electromagnetic pulses, high-powered lasers, and high-powered microwaves, in addition to electronic and cyber options including jamming and spoofing as well as data interception and/or corruption and taking full control of data. All of these weapons have been employed and there have been growing incidents of space interference as far back as 2008. Attribution is difficult but many of these threats are thought to be sourced from Russia and China. 

Therefore, while the open U.S. claim about deployment of space weapons have made headlines everywhere, with many even suggesting that this will push Russia and China to develop such weapons, the reality is that Beijing and Moscow have been developing and employing these weapons, all while using the rhetoric of non-weaponization and peaceful use of space. Calls for non-weaponization and getting more countries to see the benefits of keeping space safe, secure, and sustainable are important, but this effort is increasingly being overtaken by a space arms race that now appears inevitable. 

Dr. Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan is the Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra, Australia.

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Fonte: The Diplomat