The US military is preparing for the possibility of conflict extending beyond Earth’s orbit and into the space between the Earth and the Moon, as Washington accelerates efforts to develop capabilities for warfare in an increasingly contested domain.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a senior military adviser to President Donald Trump, said the US armed forces needed to adapt now so they could operate across an increasingly broad battlespace.
The military must be “prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space”, Caine said.
Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon, head of the US Space Force Combat Forces Command, said the force was preparing for military operations extending beyond Earth orbit.
“Humanity is advancing deeper into space – the Space Force’s job is to help be prepared to defend US interests,” he said.
The comments come days after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the US had fielded “on-orbit space control weapons”, signalling a shift from viewing space primarily as an environment for communications, navigation and surveillance towards one in which military forces may need to conduct offensive and defensive operations.
Several countries, including the US, have demonstrated the ability to destroy satellites in Earth orbit. Such tests have historically involved ground-launched weapons targeting satellites operated by the country conducting the demonstration, creating debris and raising concerns about the long-term security of orbital infrastructure.
Gagnon said US intelligence agencies had identified efforts by potential adversaries to expand military activity beyond traditional orbital operations.
“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,” he said, referring to China.
Gagnon said the Space Force “will continue to execute safe and responsible space operations in all the reaches of space”.
He declined to disclose the Space Force’s policy on the use of kinetic weapons, including bullets or projectiles, in space.
The expansion of the US military’s space capabilities is also set to be accompanied by a substantial increase in personnel. Gagnon said the Space Force aims to double in size over the next five years to about 25,000 service members, with roughly two-thirds of the additional personnel expected to join Combat Forces Command.
He said the expansion was intended to strengthen deterrence rather than signal an intention to initiate conflict.
“We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation. The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.”
The shift towards cislunar operations reflects the growing strategic importance of the region between Earth and the Moon, where governments and commercial companies are planning increasingly ambitious missions.
For Washington, the challenge is no longer confined to protecting satellites in established Earth orbits. Military planners are increasingly considering how US forces would operate and defend interests across a much larger space environment.
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