The War Zone
• Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the United States has deployed space-control weapons on orbit, confirming a capability previously left undisclosed. He did not identify the systems or say whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic, while the Space Force outlined its broader space-control mission set.
Space Defense & Militarization
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Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the United States has deployed space-control weapons on orbit, confirming a capability previously left undisclosed. He did not identify the systems or say whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic, while the Space Force outlined its broader space-control mission set.
Satellite operators are repositioning around sovereign space strategies, integrating capabilities across multiple domains and collaborating more closely with the technology ecosystem. The shift highlights how defense requirements and artificial intelligence are reshaping satellite operators’ roles beyond traditional space-based services.
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Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the United States has deployed space-control weapons on orbit, marking the first public disclosure by a U.S. official, according to the reports. He did not identify the systems or say whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic.
Satellogic has agreed with Innovative Defense Technologies to launch six additional Earth-observation satellites for the U.S. Office of Naval Research’s Slingshot III program. The agreement expands the satellite contribution to a U.S. defense-linked program focused on space-based Earth observation.
ESA’s FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth-observation satellites are ready for launch on Vega-C from French Guiana, while Airbus and Unseenlabs won a contract for France’s next SIGINT satellites. Cailabs is advancing shared optical ground infrastructure, and Satellogic plans three additional Earth-observation satellites.
Satellite imagery is giving America’s adversaries persistent visibility into U.S. military bases, underscoring the need to adapt defense planning and operational security to an environment in which movements and infrastructure can be observed from orbit.
The Department of the Air Force has awarded nuclear microreactor startup Antares a $161 million contract to develop and demonstrate a nuclear reactor for spacecraft. The award advances U.S. efforts to mature space-based nuclear power for future missions.
The Pentagon is seeking an artificial intelligence system that can rapidly fuse space, missile and intelligence data into operational threat assessments. The effort would place commercial AI closer to the military decision-making loop, with speed and reliability central to converting large volumes of data into actionable assessments.
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