The Trump administration on Friday unveiled the official flag to be used by the Space Force, the newest branch of the military.
President Trump held an Oval Office ceremony where the flag was unfurled, signing a proclamation denoting Armed Forces Day alongside military leaders.
“Space is going to be the future, both in terms of defense and offense and so many other things,” Trump said. “And already, from what I’m hearing and based on reports, we’re now the leader in space.”
“This is really to unfurl the flag, but we’ve been doing this now for quite awhile,” he added.
The flag is dark blue with a delta wing, an elliptical orbit and three large stars that are intended to symbolize the Space Force’s purpose of organizing, training and equipping, according to the White House. It is the first new military flag to be unveiled in 72 years.
Trump coined the name “Space Force” in 2018, but the idea for a separate branch of the military for space originated as a bipartisan House idea in 2017. It was officially established as the sixth branch of the military in December, when Trump signed the annual defense policy bill.
The new service is aimed at protecting U.S. assets in space, such as satellites, from earthly threats, including U.S. adversaries Russia and China.
During Friday’s presentation of the flag, Trump alluded to the development of a new U.S. military asset.
“We have, I call it the super-duper missile,” Trump said, explaining that it could travel “17 times faster than what they have right now.”
A Pentagon spokesman was asked about the “super-duper missile” during a subsequent press call and referred reporters back to the White House.