U.S. troops must prepare to fight around the moon: Trump's top military adviser

American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth's orbit but around the moon, President Donald Trump's top military adviser said on Wednesday (September 16, 2026), looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the U.S. revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.

Gen. Dan Caine, Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the U.S. military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win ... from the seabed to cislunar space.”