At back-to-back defense conferences this week, top US military leaders including Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, Gen. Douglas Schiess, and Space Command's Gen. Stephen Whiting publicly confirmed for the first time that the US has fielded operational space control weapons meant to defend military and national interests from hostile action in orbit. None of them disclosed what the weapons are, whether they target objects in space or on Earth, or how long they've been in use, and officials pointed to China and Russia as the reason for going public now.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-17
The US Air Force publicly confirmed it has placed weapons in orbit capable of offensive action, a rare admission for a domain traditionally shrouded in secrecy. Officials suggested the disclosure was intentional, signaling capability to rival nations rather than an accidental leak.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-15
The US Space Force has confirmed publicly for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space, marking a shift from its previous focus on defensive and monitoring roles. The branch, established in 2019 as the first new US military service in over 70 years, was originally created to safeguard American satellites used for communication and surveillance.
bbc.com
· 2026-09-15
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink publicly acknowledged for the first time that the US now has 'space control weapons' already stationed in orbit, capable of defending military forces from hostile action. He declined to specify what the weapons are, when they were deployed, or whether they've been tested, citing deterrence concerns.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-15
The US military has turned off advertising identifiers on Windows, Android and Apple devices used by service members, aiming to stop adversaries from purchasing commercially available location data to track troops. The disclosure came in letters to Senator Ron Wyden, revealing that Windows machines had trackers disabled since before 2021, while mobile devices only got default protection starting in early 2026. The move follows earlier reporting that such tracking data had already been used to target American forces in the Middle East.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-07
US military branches confirmed to Senator Ron Wyden and Reuters that they have turned off advertising identifiers on service members' phones and computers. The Air Force disabled them two months ago, Special Operations Command did so recently, and the Army says mobile ad IDs have been off since earlier this year, with Windows devices blocked since before 2021.
theguardian.com
· 2026-09-04
The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command have all turned off advertising tracking on government-issued phones and computers, according to a letter Senator Ron Wyden shared. The change, rolled out earlier this year with the Air Force following in July, blocks the advertising identifiers apps use to generate location data that gets sold to data brokers.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-04
Enabled Intelligence, a US data-processing firm, says it has made available more than half a million hours of Ukrainian drone footage for use in training AI models, marketing the dataset for both military and commercial applications. This marks a shift from earlier programs like Project Maven, where combat sensor data stayed locked within classified defense channels, toward a broader, more open data marketplace.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-04
Multiple U.S. military commissaries have reported near-simultaneous refrigeration failures over the past several days, spoiling frozen and refrigerated food at bases nationwide. The Pentagon has acknowledged a 'possible refrigeration disruption' affecting numerous Defense Commissary Agency stores, a pattern first flagged through scattered social media complaints before being independently confirmed by Stars and Stripes and Military Times/Navy Times.
signalandsilence.substack.com
· 2026-08-31
Forensic investigators in Zaporizhzhia recovered downed Russian drones containing Nvidia Jetson Orin minicomputers, suggesting the aircraft used onboard AI to identify and strike targets rather than being remotely piloted. The drones lacked antennas or radio signals, and Ukrainian officials say one struck propane tanks near a gas station with precision consistent with autonomous targeting. UN and Red Cross leaders separately warned this week that autonomous weapons targeting humans cross a dangerous moral line.
futurism.com
· 2026-08-28
Ukraine has granted Elon Musk its highest state honor in recognition of Starlink's role supporting the country's military and communications. The move comes as Ukrainian officials continue pressing Musk to extend Starlink coverage into Russian territory.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-26
Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, co-founded by Stefan Kraus, has developed a drone-based communications system designed to connect military personnel using both legacy and modern radio equipment. Kraus argues that decades-old military radio technology remains reliable because it has been extensively tested in the field, and the US military continues to rely on it rather than abandoning it.
bbc.com
· 2026-08-24
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