Trump Presented U.S. Space Force Flag, Promises ‘Super Duper’ Missile

Top Pentagon officials presented the service flag, which bears a black background with stars behind the official Space Force seal, to the president Friday.

Trump officially signed the Space Force into creation in December, when he signed the National Defense Authorization Act, with the year of its creation — 2019 — appearing in Roman numerals on the flag below the Space Force seal.

While proclaiming “space is going to be the future” at the ceremony Friday, Trump also touted a planned “super duper missile” that he claims will be 17 times faster than nuclear weapons in either Russia or China.

Despite numerous critics saying the new branch was unnecessary, Trump has continually defended the need for a Space Force, saying at the December signing ceremony “space is the world’s newest war-fighting domain.”

According to the Space Force, its official mission is “a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space” through developing military space professionals and acquiring military space systems, among other goals.

The Space Force joins the Air Force, founded in 1947, the Coast Guard, founded in 1790, and the Army, Navy and Marine Corps — all founded in 1775 — as official branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.