Pentagon leaders said this week the military has deployed weapons in space, acknowledging for the first time a closely held government secret.

For years, officials have declined to talk about space-based weapons. Now, Space Force officials and people close to the service say it is becoming increasingly important for the U.S. to acknowledge its space-based capabilities, since more will be needed in the future as countries like China and Russia seek to take away America's advantage in space.

U.S. officials said the decision to openly discuss such weapons wasn't based on any global event or current operation.

The Trump administration has sought major increases in funding for national-security space projects, and Trump himself has frequently touted U.S. space technologies. Some people familiar with the matter have been anticipating a more public discussion about the weapons the U.S. has fielded into orbit.

This week's revelations about orbital weapons are part of a broader effort to normalize the military's use of space to protect and defend American interests, officials say. Such conversations could also deter adversaries who also seek to launch weapons into orbit, they say.

"It's time to talk about that-we have the capabilities to make sure that we can do what the joint force needs us to do," Gen. Douglas Schiess, the Space Force's top officer, said during a Tuesday briefing at the Air and Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference in Maryland.

Schiess referenced China and Russia's ability to tamper with satellites, pointing to Chinese spacecraft with robotic arms that could potentially grab a satellite and remove it from its orbit. Schiess said the military has orbital weapons that can defend against "space-enabled attacks" but didn't provide specifics about those assets.

Schiess's comments came one day after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, the Trump administration official who oversees both the Air Force and Space Force, described the U.S. as having "on-orbit space control weapons" at the same conference.

Military officials have repeatedly pointed to China's expanding ambitions in space, and view the country, along with Russia, as posing threats to an arena the U.S. has dominated for decades.

The U.S. has warned about Russia and China testing and launching space weapons for years.

China stands for peaceful use of space, and opposes an arms race there or any attempt to weaponize it, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said when asked about the remarks by Pentagon leaders. "We urge the U.S. to stop expanding military build-up in outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions," he said.

The U.S. has for decades relied on satellites to execute military operations. Space capabilities allow the Pentagon to detect missile launches, guide precision munitions, collect battlefield imagery, communicate securely and more.

The dependence the Pentagon has on space has raised fears of potential attacks in orbit. China, meanwhile, has made it a priority to achieve space power parity with the U.S. by 2040. Beijing is on track to launch thousands of its own satellites, including weapons, in the coming years, U.S. officials say.

"It's not surprising that we're acknowledging on-orbit U.S. space weapons to defend our space assets" given assessments that China and Russia are developing space weapons, said Kari Bingen, who focuses on aerospace security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The confirmation also signals that the U.S. will "protect our joint forces on the ground from satellites that would be used to target them," she said.

Some analysts are worried the confirmation could have a different impact.

"The concern is that this can be either very escalatory, should China and Russia choose to make similar statements, or this normalizes putting weapons in space," said Victoria Samson, who directs efforts around space security and stability at the nonprofit Secure World Foundation.

Space-based weaponry takes several forms. Among them: Robotic arms attached to satellites could capture spacecraft or push them out of their orbits. Satellites could be armed with high-powered lasers or microwaves that target the electronic systems on adversary systems. Jammers would seek to stop the signals satellites transmit.

Some of the fighting in space popularized in movies isn't possible in orbit, including rapid-pace dogfighting between different spacecraft. Developing a satellite that is capable of agile movements can be challenging, and requires propulsion systems and fuel.

Still, the military and several U.S. companies are working on spacecraft that can shift more rapidly, anticipating a space environment that is more intensely contested and that includes spacecraft from different countries making close approaches to each other.