{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"The US military acknowledged for the first time on Monday that it has weapons in space, as China and Russia grow their military programmes in orbit."}],[{"start":15.24,"text":"“The United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” air force secretary Troy Meink said at an Air & Space Forces Association conference in Maryland."}],[{"start":28.52,"text":"Meink declined to say what the weapon was or detail its capabilities but said his exact phrasing was “important from a deterrence perspective” and further elaboration on “what we’re doing would actually not benefit that deterrence”."}],[{"start":41.8,"text":"He added that the US needed to make sure it could “operate freely” in space and that it was an important arena for American military and economic security."}],[{"start":50.24,"text":"Meink’s announcement comes as the Trump administration rushes to build out space capabilities for its “Golden Dome” missile defence shield. The air force secretary said on Monday that there was now “flight-ready hardware” for space-based interceptors, a defining Golden Dome feature that would intercept attacking missiles in space."}],[{"start":67.16,"text":"However, space security experts warned the US’s disclosure about an orbital weapon could result in the proliferation of space weaponry by other governments."}],[{"start":76.232,"text":"The US Space Force defines “space control” as defensive or offensive “activities required to contest and control the space domain”, with space superiority being the goal. In its warfighting framework, the service has said that orbital strikes can include the use of both kinetic — or physically destructive — weapons and non-kinetic ones."}],[{"start":94.08,"text":"Space control, which can happen in space and on Earth, could include attacking a satellite ground station or jamming a satellite communication, said Clayton Swope, the deputy director of the aerospace security project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank."}],[{"start":108.36,"text":"But Swope, a former CIA technical intelligence officer, said Meink was “too vague” to properly deter China and Russia."}],[{"start":115.84,"text":"“They would need to know more about the destructive potential of the weapon and what general line — even a hazy understanding of the line — they would have to cross before the US would use it,” he added."}],[{"start":125.68,"text":"Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability for Secure World Foundation, suggested that the weapon was a space-based jammer, given the US’s policy to avoid actions that result in debris, which would happen in a kinetic attack."}],[{"start":139.8,"text":"Samson added that the air force secretary’s announcement could “backfire as a deterrent” if China or Russia were to acknowledge similar weapons."}],[{"start":147.24,"text":"“This becomes a self-enforcing cycle and eventually someone is going to use one of those weapons,” she said."}],[{"start":154,"text":"Sam Lair, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said: “This will now be something US adversaries or other countries can point towards to justify new or existing counter-space programmes”."}],[{"start":165.76,"text":"While he was sceptical Meink’s announcement would spark entirely new counter-space programmes from other nations, “it will provide rhetorical ammunition for boosters of existing or new programmes elsewhere”."}],[{"start":180.98,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789450315_4214.mp3"}