India, Sept. 15 -- For the first time ever, the United States government had admitted that it deployed an "on-orbit" space weapon. On Monday, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Washington had placed " space control weapons."

A US Space Force spokesperson added that the weapons deployed are "capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action."

"Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain -- employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities," the official statement said, adding that "these capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes."

This action from the US comes as political rivals - China and Russia - pose a threat to ...