Donald Trump unveils Space Force flag and claims U.S. is working on a 'super duper missile' which goes 17 times faster than current weapons

President Donald Trump touted a 'super duper' missile as he staged a 'very special moment' and unveiled the new flag of the Space Force Friday.

Trump, who regularly claims he inherited a hollow military, staged the ceremony for the new military service he pushed for  in the Oval Office – and claimed the U.S. was ahead of Russia and China.   

'It's a very special moment,' Trump said. 

+7

President Donald Trump gestures towards the U.S. Space Force flag during a presentation of the flag in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2020. He touted a 'super duper missile' he said the U.S. has

'We've worked very hard on this and it's so important form a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, from every standpoint there is,' he said. 'We should have started this a long time ago, but we've made up for it.'

Trump spoke a few hours after he pushed another project with a space theme: Operation Warp Speed, meant to get millions of doses of vaccines produced to protect the nation from coronavirus after U.S. deaths topped 80,000.  

Trump said the military was building 'incredible military equipment,' which he only loosely described, in a likely reference to a hypersonic missile.

'We have, I call it the Super Duper Missile, and I heard the other night 17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now,' Trump said. 'You've heard Russia has five times and China's working on five or six times, we have one 17 times and it's just gotten the go ahead,' Trump said. 

The new head of Space Force, General John W. Raymond, attended the White House ceremony, saying: 'We're proud of this flag. We're proud to have an opportunity to present it to you.' 

'That's a beautiful flag, too,' Trump said after it was unfurled. 

+7

epa08424721 US President Donald J. Trump signs the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation after being presented the official flag of the United States Space Force at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on 15 May 2020

+7

The Space Force flag features a delta, a North Star, and an orbit

Raymond described the flag, which has a delta-shaped insignia is an insignia 'which space communities have used for years and years and years.' He said the North Star signifies 'our core value, our guiding light.' And he said the orbit around the globe 'signifies space capabilities that fuel our American way of life and our American way of war.'

which drew immediate comparisons to Star Trek when it was first unveiled. 

He said the North Star represented 'our guiding light if you will 

+7

Gen. Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations, points to the newly designed rank insignia of CMSgt Roger Towberman, the senior most enlisted in the US Space Force, while US President Donald J. Trump signs the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation and presentation of the official flag of the United States Space Force

+7

President Trump signed the Armed Forces Day proclamation on a day he also held events on a program to find a coronavirus vaccine and an even honoring people helping others through the pandemic

'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 said. 

'It's a very historic moment,' said Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, who attended the ceremony, where Trump also signed an Armed Forces Day proclamation.

White House press secretary Keyleigh McEnany provided no additional information on the super duper missile or U.S. defense capabilities.

'I would just refer you back to the president's remarks and the Pentagon. I don't have any new information on that at this point,' she said when asked a follow-up question.

Trump also touted 'super-fast' missiles earlier this year. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his nation already has hypersonic missiles.  

Takei, a frequent critic of Trump, tweeted: 'Ahem. We are expecting some royalties from this..' after the Space Force logo was revealed

+7

Social media users pointed out that the Space Force logo (left) looks a lot like the insignia from the Starfleet Command (right) as seen on Star Trek

+7

President Trump on Friday unveiled the new logo for the Space Force

Trump signed a copy of the proclamation and presented one to Roger Towberman, the senior most enlisted in the US Space Force. 'Please don't put this ton eBay tonight,' Trump quipped.