Troy Meink serves as Secretary of the Air Force.
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As US Air Force Secretary, Meink attended an Oval Office event concerning U.S. Space Command headquarters in September 2025 and addressed the Air & Space Forces Association in September 2026 to publicly acknowledge that the United States has weapons deployed in orbit.
Acknowledgment of Orbital Weapons
On September 14, 2026, Meink publicly acknowledged that the United States has weapons in orbit. He stated that the country has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.
Speaking to attendees at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Meink characterized the wording of the space weapons disclosure as very well thought out and told reporters it had been selected carefully to deliver a message.
Deterrence and Space Defense Positions
Meink asserted that maintaining dominance in space alongside air dominance is critically important. He cited weapons development by China and Russia as justification for the United States protecting its space operations, noting that steps were taken to ensure the U.S. can address threats directed against it.
Meink argued that revealing the existence of the weapons helps deter adversaries, whereas disclosing additional details, capabilities, or testing would diminish and undermine that deterrent objective.
Consequently, Meink declined to provide specifics regarding the type of weapon deployed, declined to state whether the weapons physically strike targets or use other mechanisms to disable them, did not confirm whether they had undergone testing, did not reveal when they were originally deployed, and did not identify any particular satellite or spacecraft equipped with them.
Space-Based Interceptors and Headquarters Relocation
Meink reported that the United States possesses flight-ready hardware for space-based interceptors. He stated that development of space-based interceptors for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative went from an initial contract to flight-ready hardware in under a year.
Prior to the disclosure conference, Meink attended an event in the Oval Office on September 2, 2025, regarding the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters.