Donald Trump’s top military adviser said American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth’s orbit but around the moon. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win … from the seabed to cislunar space”.

Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon, head of the Space Force Combat Forces Command, added that the force is preparing to fight in space and around the moon. “Humanity is advancing deeper into space – the Space Force’s job is to help be prepared to defend US interests,” he said.

This comes days after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the US has fielded “on-orbit space control weapons”.

However, according to Mr Gagnon, “the intelligence community has been clear that potential adversaries have been seeking to extend warfare into space” and that the US military needs to react.

“Our potential adversaries, such as the PRC, are actively pursuing activities in the system, in parts of space,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

He added that the US Space Force “will continue to execute safe and responsible space operations in all the reaches of space”.

Mr Gagnon also said the US aims to double the size of the Space Force over the next five years – to roughly 25,000 service members – and that about two-thirds of that growth would be focused on Combat Forces Command.

He added: “We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation. The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.”