You thought “Star Wars” changed cinema as we know it. Well, here comes the real-deal, real-life version of Star Wars, courtesy of the U.S. Space Force.
Turns out, the U.S. has weaponized outer space, or is it inner space? Whatever it is, they’re out there, ready to exact a toll on miscreants like Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran.
China’s boss Xi Jinping has already warned President Trump, in advance of their meeting next week, that arming space is a no-no.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink disclosed the deployment on September 14 at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Officials did not identify the weapons, say how many are deployed, or state when they reached orbit. The weaponization is ostensibly part of President Trump’s initiative to create a Golden Dome defense shield above the United States.
“It’s time to talk about that — we have the capabilities to make sure that we can do what the joint force needs us to do,” Gen. Douglas Schiess, the Space Force’s top officer, said during the conference.
Schiess said the space-based defensive employment was in response to efforts by China and Russia to interfere with U.S. satellites. He said China already has spacecraft with robotic arms that can take down satellites.
However, the kind of outer-space battles depicted in movies is not yet possible, according to research analysts. Most craft in space are stuck with using lasers or robotic arms to do damage or to defend themselves.
