Air Force Secretary Troy Meink made the announcement Sept. 14, when he delivered the keynote address at the annual Air and Space Forces Association conference, The Military Times reported.
“It is critically important that we maintain our dominance not only in the air but in space, and so that we’ve had to take steps to make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that,” Meink said during his speech.
According to the Times article, the Air Force secretary described “on-orbit” weapons circling the Earth that can defend military units from “hostile” action by U.S enemies.
Robert Maginnis, a national defense strategist, told American Family News he views the disclosure as “deterrence” that sent a message to U.S. enemies, including Russia and China.
“Evidently, there was something that prompted this,” he observed.
Maginnis, who monitors national defense news, pointed out Secretary Meink’s unusual disclosure came after another unusual incident. On August 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow for a secretive meeting with Russian intelligence officials.
Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Air Force missile officer, told AFN he was surprised at the disclosure because a 1967 U.S.-Soviet Union treaty bans space-based nuclear weapons.
“The Russians signed it. The Americans signed it,” he said. “It was ratified by the Senate that we will not weaponize space, that we will not put nuclear weapons in space for obvious reasons.”
The treaty did not ban non-nuclear weapons, however, and Maginnis said Russia is known for its decades of work to fill space with technology to counter the United States.
“They have lots of satellites, they have lots of ballistic missiles, and the Chinese, of course, are emerging right now in their capabilities, too,” Maginnis said.
Klingenschmitt called the Pentagon disclosure “bad news” for American security.
“If we're going to start shooting each other's satellites,” he said, “America has the most assets to lose. "
