Once a hunting ground for Cold War bragging rights, space has now evolved into a key strategic arena, as states jostle for a military and technological edge.
The United States Space Force confirmed on Monday that the US has deployed weapons into orbit.
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"The US has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action," a spokesperson for the force said in a statement.
"Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain -- employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities," the statement continued.
It added that "these capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes.”
'Strategic competitors'
The space domain has become increasingly viewed as a critical component of national security, with much of the world economy relying on space infrastructure such as satellites.
Once a hunting ground for Cold War bragging rights, space has now evolved into a key strategic arena, as states jostle for a military and technological edge.
The US moved to better position itself in 2019, establishing the Space Force to address what the military calls the "growing threat posed by strategic competitors."
Washington is particularly wary of potential threats posed by China and Russia in space.
The Space Force says Beijing and Moscow are developing a range of new systems designed to boost military effectiveness and "end any reliance on U.S. space services," while also "testing and fielding sophisticated counterspace capabilities."
The Chinese military, the force says, believes space will have an important role in future conflicts, "enabling long-range precision strikes and denying other militaries the use of space-based information."
It adds that China has also been developing and operating space and counterspace capabilities as part of a push to modernise its military.
For its part, Russia runs one of the world's largest space programs, and while it has been hampered by funding issues and international isolation, it is still a "capable space actor," the Space Force says.
"Russia views space as a warfighting domain and believes space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts," it adds.