WASHINGTON, USA, Sept. 14, 2026 - US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said on Sept 14 that the United States has 'space control' weapons deployed in Earth's orbit to defend US forces against 'hostile adversary action.' ^[1] Meink made the statement at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference, saying the US possesses on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action. ^[2] The disclosure drew backlash from Russia and China. ^[3] Impact Insight. Space control means the ability to protect one's own satellites and deny an opponent the use of theirs, and some past anti-satellite tests left debris that stayed in orbit for years. The link to planetary defense is near-Earth space safety rather than asteroids: conflict in orbit could create debris that endangers every satellite and strains the networks that track them.