Space & Astronomy

US Space Force reveals new naming scheme for its weapon systems

By T.K. Randall
December 15, 2025

Image Credit: United States Space Force Established in 2019, the US Space Force aims to protect American assets in space and prevent countries such as China and Russia taking the lead off-world.

In 2020 it was revealed that members of this military branch would be called 'Guardians' and now, at the Spacepower conference in Florida, Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman has revealed a whole new naming scheme for the Space Force's various weapon systems.

For example, orbital warfare systems will receive names from the Norse pantheon, while cyber warfare systems will be named after various mythological creatures.Satellite communications systems will be named after constellations, navigational warfare systems after sharks, electromagnetic warfare systems after snakes, space domain awareness systems after ghosts and missile warning systems after sentinels.

"To some degree this is about having a culture where the people responsible for the mission feel directly connected to it, and it's hard to get connected to a program name or some number system in the catalog of weapon systems," said Saltzman.

"We've chosen to represent each of our mission areas with specific symbology."

"These symbols conjure the character of the systems, the importance of their mission and the identity of the guardians to employ them."

Source: Gizmodo

Tags: Space Force