Condemn the US placement of weapons in Outer Space

Written by: Nick G. on 16 September 2026

Two days ago, a US military spokesman confirmed that the US has already placed weapons in space.

This adds urgency to our demands to stop the militarisation of space.

US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed on Monday that the so-called “space control weapons” would be used to defend US forces on Earth, but gave no details of what the weapons were or where they orbits occurred.

The admission is likely to bring to a halt a Russian-sponsored UN initiative for an international commitment known as “No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space” (NFP).

As we have just seen with calls to “slow down the development of AI”, big corporations and nations try to stymie competitors’ advantages by putting up “holier than thou” obstacles in their way.

The US has been front-runner in the race to win military control of space. Russia and China are its main competitors.

The Russian NFP initiative, began in 2004 and regularly visited in the UN, has so far won the support of a minority of 37 UN member states.

China has strongly supported the objective of preventing an arms race in outer space and, together with Russia, has proposed a treaty prohibiting the placement of weapons in space.

However, China is not a signatory to the NFP, saying that the NFP is merely a political declaration and that it favours a legally binding international treaty prohibiting the placement of weapons in outer space.

Indeed, China voted against the 2025 UN NFP resolution, as have the US and its main imperialist partners.

Australia is one of the countries that have refused to make the NFP commitment. 

Australia's position permits it to develop and acquire space capabilities, including capabilities that could potentially have military applications. Australian company EOS has boasted that it already has the capability to shoot hundreds of “enemy satellites”.

“We could intercept and interdict the satellite operations of any country on earth, if we chose to. That’s a really powerful platform for us,” said EOS spokesperson Dr Ben Greene . “It’s quite feasible now to talk about taking out hundreds of satellites a day if that was necessary.”

There is no doubt that the US admission will spur Russia and China, as well as European imperialists, to place their own weapons in space.

The violence of imperialism is no longer confined to Earth. 

Their rivalry brings to an end humanity’s dreams of the peaceful exploration and use of space.

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