The US military may soon declassify a secret space weapon

Enlarge / Anti-Satellite Weapons from Mission Shakti are displayed during Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2020 in New Delhi, India. (credit: Ramesh Pathania/Mint via Getty Images)

US military officials are debating whether to publicly demonstrate a new space weapon capability, according to the online publication Breaking Defense.

Senior military leaders, including Gen. John Hyten, the vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, have been discussing for more than a year whether to reveal a secret space weapon by providing a demonstration of its capabilities, the report says. The weapon system, the details of which remain obscure, was developed as a "Special Access Program," which is reserved for highly classified information.

The Trump administration considered revealing the space weapon as early as the annual Space Symposium conference in 2020, a prestigious event for the national defense community. The idea was to showcase the technology as a validation of the Space Force and Space Command, which is responsible for military operations in outer space. However, the conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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