New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- The United States has, for the first time, acknowledged that it has weapons deployed in orbit, revealing a previously undisclosed military capability in space.

US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said on Monday that Washington now possessed "on-orbit space control weapons" that could protect American forces from hostile action.

Meink made the disclosure while speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland. However, he did not reveal what the weapon is or when it was deployed.

"This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action," Meink said.

Meink said the decision to reveal the...