Should the US demonstrate its space weapons?

Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, commanding general of US Army Space and Missile Defense Command, speaks during the keynote address at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 11. (Breaking Defense)

Attendees listen during a keynote address at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 11. (Breaking Defense)

Golden Dome czar Gen. Mike Guetlein, left, speaks with retired Army Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., on August 11, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

Vera, made by Huntsville’s Browncoats robotics team, is a mechanical challenge robot that shoots plastic balls at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 11, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

L3Harris Red Wolf munition on display at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 11, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

Raytheon’s LTAMDS: Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (foreground) and Raytheon’s SM-3 Interceptor (background) as seen at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 11, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

Northrop Grumman’s Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI), intended as a layered defense against regional hypersonic missile threats, is seen on display at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium on Aug. 11, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 missile (above) and THAAD missile (below) as seen at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium Aug. 11, 2026, in Huntsville, Ala. (Breaking Defense)

The Space and Missile Defense Symposium kicked off Aug. 11, 2026, in Huntsville, Ala. (Breaking Defense)

Boeing’s Small Diameter Bomb on display at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

AV’s SB400 (front) and SB600 (back) displayed at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

AV’s Titan 4 RF Counter-Unmanned Aerial System is seen here at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

A caricature artist at MFGS’ booth during the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

A high-power microwave sensor from Radiance Technologies displayed at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

A US Common Hypersonic Glide Body at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

A busy day two at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)

A Space Force officer wears a Space Systems Command patch while attending the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., Aug. 12, 2026. (Breaking Defense)