US troops need to prepare for combat around the moon: Joint Chiefs chair

U.S. troops must prepare for combat around the moon in addition to Earth’s orbit, according to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine.

Speaking at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Wednesday, Caine said the U.S. military should make the necessary moves now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space.”

Caine, President Trump’s top military adviser, spoke of fighting in space a few days after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the U.S. launched a weapon into orbit to protect American troops.

Meink, speaking at the same conference Monday, did not elaborate on the type of weapon that is now in space or when it was launched, but he said it will “make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that.”

The Washington Post reported the weapon could allow America’s forces to take out an enemy’s satellite should it be used to target U.S. troops or a satellite.

Speaking to reporters separately, Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, head of the force’s Combat Forces Command, said the Space Force is preparing for conflict outside the Earth’s atmosphere and around the moon because “humanity is advancing deeper into space,” The Associated Press reported.

“Our potential adversaries such as the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are actively pursuing activities in the system, in parts of space,” Gagnon said, noting that Washington is looking to double the size of the Space Force over the next five years to roughly 25,000 service members.

“We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation,” Gagnon said, according to the AP. “The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.”