THE Trump administration is known for its maverick behaviour, bordering on recklessness, that throws international conventions out of the window. The latest example of this is the announcement by the US that it has deployed weapons in space. This is hardly a disclosure, but it brings on the record what many around the world already knew. Though no specifics are available regarding the space-based weaponry, American officials say they include “kinetic and non-kinetic” capabilities. The attempt to weaponise space goes back to the Cold War. The Reagan administration had poured billions of dollars into the ‘Star Wars’ programme in order to stay ahead of the Soviets, yet no actual weapons were deployed. But with the American admission that they have weapons in the cosmos, other states with similar capabilities could also consider their options. Expectedly, China and Russia have come down hard on the US following the admission. The Chinese foreign ministry has criticised the “weaponisation of outer space” and warned against an arms race, while the Kremlin has called for “the complete demilitarisation of space”. Interestingly, while Beijing and Moscow want weapons to be kept out of space, the Western states reportedly favour “responsible behaviour” regarding such weaponry.
As it is, there have been frightening advances in weaponry globally. For example, today’s nuclear weapons are much more powerful than their predecessors deployed in World War II. Moreover, the development of AI-based autonomous weapons systems — also known as ‘killer robots’ — should serve as a wakeup call for all people of conscience. If these grim developments are coupled with the state of the world geopolitically, then a freeze in the deployment of destructive weapons, such as arms in space, is essential. The US should seriously reconsider its deployment of weapons in outer space. The threat of an arms race in the cosmos is very real; if Beijing and Moscow feel an existential threat from American weapons, they too could deploy weapons of their own. Though the current US administration has itself destroyed the global ‘rules-based order’ that prevailed post-World War II, the threat weapons in space — and other such destructive systems — pose to humanity, should make Washington reconsider this decision.
Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026
