Space Force's New 'Orbital Warfare' Unit Gets Space Jet

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, COLORADO — The US Space Force was established as an independent branch of the US military when US president Donald Trump signed the United States Space Force Act on 20 December 2019.

Now, less than a year later, the Space Force has announced that it has received ownership of the Air Force's top-secret experimental space plane, the X-37B.

Interestingly, the X-37B will be operated by a new Space Force unit called Delta 9, which is dedicated to focus on "orbital warfare".

This means that Delta 9 will be responsible for combat operations and battles fought within the orbital sphere around planet Earth.

The X-37B is an unmanned space vehicle that has a cargo bay similar to the space shuttle, but it's designed to be much more maneuverable than the shuttle.

Sources suggest the reusable space plane is used like a satellite for intelligence gathering, although its ability to maneuver and change orbit makes it more flexible than conventional satellites.