Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. File
| Photo Credit: AP
American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth’s orbit but around the moon, President Donald Trump’s top military adviser said on Wednesday (September 16, 2026), looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the U.S. revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.
Gen. Dan Caine, Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the U.S. military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space.”
Space Force, the newest military service, which was created by Mr. Trump in 2019, is preparing to fight in space and around the moon because “humanity is advancing deeper into space — the Space Force’s job is to help be prepared to defend US interests,” Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, head of the force’s Combat Forces Command, told reporters separately.
The announcement that the U.S. military is ready to fight in the area between high Earth orbit and the moon itself comes days after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed at the same conference that the U.S. has fielded “on-orbit space control weapons.”
The spate of announcements about space weaponry from military officials over recent days flies in the face of long-standing conventions and international understandings that have held outer space as only to be used for peaceful purposes and remain non-militarised.
Space Force says potential U.S. foes may look to turn space into a battleground While multiple nations, including the U.S., have demonstrated the ability to shoot down satellites in Earth orbit, those demonstrations have taken place from the ground against their own satellites.
However, according to Lt. Gen. Gagnon, “the intelligence community has been clear that potential adversaries have been seeking to extend warfare into space” and that the US military needs to react.
“Our potential adversaries such as the PRC are actively pursuing activities in the system, in parts of space,” Lt. Gen. Gagnon said, referring to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s official name.
China established its own military space troops in 2024, charging them with boosting capability to manage space crises.
When asked about the 1967 treaty and other similar obligations, Lt. Gen Gagnon said the U.S. Space Force “will continue to execute safe and responsible space operations in all the reaches of space.” However, he would not say what Space Force or overall U.S. military policy was on the use of weapons like bullets or projectiles in space.
He directed questions to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Lt. Gen. Gagnon also says the .U.S aims to double the size of the Space Force over the next five years — to roughly 25,000 service members — and that about two-thirds of that growth would be focused on Combat Forces Command.
“We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation,” he said. “The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.”
Published – September 17, 2026 03:59 am IST
