The United States has weapons deployed in Earth’s orbit capable of defending American forces and potentially conducting offensive operations, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly confirmed Monday. The disclosure marks the first public acknowledgment that the US has deployed such capabilities in orbit, amid growing concerns over China and Russia developing weapons capable of threatening American satellites. "Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist. This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” Meink said Monday at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference. humanevents.com