President Donald Trump said Friday that a planned U.S. "super duper missile" could outpace those in the nuclear arsenals of foreign nations as he was presented with the official flag of the newly created military branch, Space Force, in the Oval Office.
"I call it the super duper missile and I heard the other night, 17 times faster than what they have right now," Trump said in reference to Russia and China's nuclear weapons at the beginning of the ceremony. "Space is going to be the future, both in terms of defense and offense and so many other things and already what I'm hearing and based on reports, we're now the leader on space."
Trump was presented with the flag by senior military officials, including chief master sergeant in the U.S. Space Force, Roger Towberman, and Gen. Jay Raymond, head of U.S. Space Command and the Space Force, who explained the significance behind the flag's design. He then signed the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation.
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"The delta in the middle, that's the symbol that space communities use for years and years and years. The North Star signifies our core value, our guiding light, if you will," Raymond said. "And the orbit around the globe signifies the space cape colors that fuel our American way of life."
The Space Force flag is first official flag for a U.S. military service in 72 years. It was produced by the Defense Logistics Agency's "Flag Room" in Philadelphia, the same operation that designs the president's personal flags.
Trump, who signed into law a measure creating the Space Force in December, called the flag "beautiful." Before the sixth branch of the U.S. military was established, the Air Force oversaw operations in space.
