‘It was time’ to admit US has weapons in orbit, Space Force’s new leader says

Gen. Douglas Schiess speaks during his promotion ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Sept. 3, 2026. U.S. Air Force / Andy Morataya

Russian and Chinese advances led to the revelation, Gen. Douglas Schiess says at AFA.

Air, Space & Cyber Conference

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland— The advance of Chinese and Russian anti-satellite capabilities led the United States to admit it has weapons in space, the Space Force's top officer said on Tuesday, adding context to Monday’s bombshell revelation by the Air Force secretary.

Deterrence remains the Space Force’s goal, but the service will pursue it from a “position of strength,” Gen. Douglas Schiess said during a keynote address at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference here.

On Monday, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the U.S. military has “on orbit, space-control weapons.” Schiess, who took over as chief of space operations less than two weeks ago, spoke to reporters after his keynote on Tuesday.

“We've talked about you know them being able to grapple a satellite and move it to a different orbit,” he said. “So, I think at this point, we are trying to say that we also need capabilities to not only defend the joint force from space-enabled attack, but defend our assets. And so, I think it was time that within the Department of War we talked about it, and it's time to talk about that we have the capabilities to make sure that we can do what the joint force needs.”

During his keynote, Schiess said the U.S. military relies on space assets for operations like the current war on Iran, that guardians are already prepared for orbital warfare, and that more money is needed for current and future operations.

“The Joint Force made it clear: without the Space Force's capabilities, the Joint Force could not and would not move forward,” Schiess said. “During Operation Epic Fury, our components, notably at U.S. Central Command and Space Command, with support from our components at European Command and Pacific Command, demonstrated that guardians are not supporting from the sidelines as a nice-to-have, but we are delivering space power directly into the fight as a need-to-have.”

Schiess highlighted one guardian in U.S. Central Command with the 42nd Electronic Warfare Detachment who “waged electromagnetic warfare against a determined adversary” during Operation Epic Fury.

“Even as alarm red sirens were blaring and incoming missiles targeted her site, she courageously held the line, protecting forces, denying adversary capability, and delivering space effects until her commander had to literally pull her from the console to safety,” Schiess said.

The CSO said the Space Force has been flexing its capabilities in outer space as well. He highlighted the service’s recent Victus Haze exercise , in which Rocket Lab quickly launched a space vehicle whose satellite chased after True Anomaly's spacecraft.

“This particular Victus Haze mission earlier this year demonstrated the ability to launch and respond to an on-demand, on-orbit threat in just 17 hours,” the general said. “Space Systems Command, our industry partners, and Combat Forces Command proved to the world that if an adversary targets the United States Space Force, we have the capability to deliver a swift response, and we are going to continue to work on getting faster and faster.”

Schiess said those current and future fights highlight the need for more resources.

“So, looking ahead, we must expand that advantage. We must build a sustained pipeline of guardian talent, equipped with the appropriate training and the kit and advanced capabilities, to ensure our joint force is fully powered by space expertise.” he said. “We must ensure today, tomorrow, and for as long as we have the pleasure to serve, that our joint force can execute because guardians are there, both at home and abroad, and in harm's way.”

Space Force has grown quickly since its founding in 2019, but this year, the Pentagon is asking Congress to allocate $71.3 billion for the service for the fiscal year that began more than two weeks ago. It would be the biggest single-year funding increase for a service branch, by percentage, since 1952, according to the Aerospace Corporation .

“Space is both a battlefield and the backbone of our joint force. We face determined and credible adversaries who are building and building counter-space systems at incredible speeds to target directly the United States state's space advantage,” Schiess said. “So that is why we don't just monitor the domain; we stand ready to defend it. So let me be crystal clear: today, Guardians operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the joint force against space-enabled attacks, and in the coming years, with the resources entrusted to us, by the way, we need your help, Congress-we will make disciplined and responsible choices about how we build and sustain our combat advantage, which means scaling our ability to respond to threats.”

It’s not clear whether Congress will grant the request. The White House wants $1.15 trillion through the normal defense-budget process and an additional $350 billion through reconciliation—a controversial and partisan budget maneuver never used for defense funding before last year. The Trump administration is pressing the GOP-led Congress to relent by proposing to use reconciliation to fund some major Space Force programs, such as the Air Moving Target Indicator and the space data network, and the vast majority of funds for the Golden Dome missile defense program.

In the meantime, 10 percent of the service’s programs are on hold because Congress hasn’t passed a fiscal 2027 defense spending bill, Schiess told reporters. The federal government is currently operating under a stopgap funding measure that will elapse on Dec. 11.

“Let me be crystal clear: today, Guardians operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the joint force against space-enabled attacks,” Schiess said. “In the coming years, with the resources entrusted to us, by the way we need your help, Congress, we will make disciplined and responsible choices about how we build and sustain our combat advantage, which means scaling our ability to respond to threats.”

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2026年9月3日，道格拉斯·希斯将军在马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地举行的晋升仪式上发表讲话。美国空军/安迪·莫拉塔亚

美国空军协会的道格拉斯·希斯将军表示，俄罗斯和中国的进展导致了这一发现。

航空航天网络会议

马里兰州国家港——美国太空军最高官员周二表示，中国和俄罗斯反卫星能力的进步促使美国承认其在太空拥有武器，这为空军部长周一的重磅爆料提供了背景。

道格拉斯·希斯将军在空军、太空和网络会议上发表主旨演讲时表示，威慑仍然是太空部队的目标，但该部队将从“实力地位”出发来实现这一目标。

周一，空军部长特洛伊·梅因克透露，美军拥有“在轨太空控制武器”。不到两周前刚刚就任太空作战部长的希斯，在周二发表主题演讲后接受了记者的采访。

他说：“我们之前讨论过他们能够抓取卫星并将其转移到不同的轨道。所以，我认为目前我们想表达的是，我们不仅需要具备防御太空攻击的能力来保护联合部队，还需要具备保护我们自身资产的能力。因此，我认为是时候在战争部内部讨论这个问题了，现在是时候讨论我们是否具备确保能够满足联合部队需求的相应能力了。”

希斯在主题演讲中表示，美国军方依靠太空资产开展行动，例如目前对伊朗的战争，太空卫士已经为轨道战争做好了准备，并且需要更多资金用于当前和未来的行动。

“联合部队明确表示：如果没有太空部队的能力，联合部队就无法前进，也不会继续推进，”希斯说。“在‘史诗狂怒行动’期间，我们的各组成部分，特别是美国中央司令部和太空司令部的部队，在欧洲司令部和太平洋司令部的支持下，证明了太空部队并非可有可无地在旁支援，而是将太空力量直接投入战斗，这至关重要。”

Schiess重点介绍了美国中央司令部第42电子战分队的一名卫士，他在“史诗狂怒行动”期间“对顽强的敌人发动了电磁战”。

“即使警报声大作，来袭导弹瞄准了她的阵地，她依然勇敢地坚守阵地，保护部队，削弱敌方能力，并发挥太空效应，直到她的指挥官不得不把她从控制台上拉到安全地带，”希斯说。

首席安全官表示，太空部队也一直在展示其在外太空的能力。他重点介绍了该部队最近举行的“维克图斯·黑兹”演习，在演习中，火箭实验室迅速发射了一枚航天器，其卫星追踪了“真实异常”公司的航天器。

“今年早些时候的‘维克图斯·黑兹’任务表明，我们有能力在短短17小时内发射并应对在轨威胁，”这位将军说。“太空系统司令部、我们的工业合作伙伴和作战部队司令部向世界证明，如果敌方将目标对准美国太空部队，我们有能力迅速做出反应，我们将继续努力，使反应速度越来越快。”

希斯表示，当前和未来的这些斗争凸显了需要更多资源。

“因此，展望未来，我们必须扩大这一优势。我们必须建立一支持续的太空守护人才队伍，为他们配备适当的训练、装备和先进能力，以确保我们的联合部队能够充分发挥太空领域的专业优势。”他说道。“我们必须确保，无论今天、明天，还是在我们还有幸服役的这段时间里，我们的联合部队都能有效执行任务，因为有守护者在国内外，在危险之中坚守岗位。”

自2019年成立以来，太空军发展迅速，但今年，五角大楼要求国会为该军种拨款713亿美元，用于两周多前开始的本财年。据航空航天公司称，这将是自1952年以来，军种年度预算增幅最大的一次（按百分比计算）。

“太空既是战场，也是我们联合部队的支柱。我们面临着意志坚定且实力强大的对手，他们正以惊人的速度建造和部署反太空系统，直接针对美国的太空优势，”希斯说道。“因此，我们不仅要监控太空领域，还要随时准备捍卫它。我要明确指出：如今，卫士部队在轨运行的武器能够防御来自太空的攻击，保护联合部队免受此类攻击。未来几年，我们将利用国会赋予我们的资源（顺便说一句，我们需要你们的帮助），在如何构建和维持我们的作战优势方面做出审慎负责的选择，这意味着我们将提升应对威胁的能力。”

目前尚不清楚国会是否会批准这项请求。白宫希望通过正常的国防预算程序获得1.15万亿美元的拨款，并通过预算协调程序额外拨款3500亿美元——这是一种备受争议且党派色彩浓厚的预算手段，此前从未用于国防拨款。特朗普政府正向共和党控制的国会施压，要求其做出让步，提议利用预算协调程序为一些重要的太空部队项目提供资金，例如空中移动目标指示器和太空数据网络，以及为“金穹顶”导弹防御系统提供绝大部分资金。

与此同时，希斯告诉记者，由于国会尚未通过2027财年国防开支法案，该部门10%的项目已被搁置。联邦政府目前依靠一项将于12月11日到期的临时拨款法案维持运转。

“我要明确指出：如今，卫士部队在轨运行的武器能够防御来自太空的攻击，从而保护联合部队免受此类攻击，”希斯说道。“未来几年，凭借我们被赋予的资源——顺便说一句，我们需要国会的支持——我们将做出审慎负责的选择，以建立和维持我们的作战优势，这意味着我们将扩大应对威胁的能力。”

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