Key Points and Summary – The X-37B is a small, unmanned reusable spaceplane flown by the U.S. Space Force that has quietly become one of the most closely watched platforms in orbit.
-Launched on its eighth mission in August 2025, it can stay aloft for well over a year, test advanced technologies, then land autonomously on a runway.
X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle concludes its sixth successful mission. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-Official experiments include high-bandwidth satellite links, quantum inertial navigation, and aerobraking maneuvers that stretch its range and flexibility.
-But its secret payloads and agile orbital shifts fuel Russian and Chinese fears that it could evolve into a stealthy “space bomber,” prompting both rivals to pursue their own spaceplanes.
X-37B: The American Spaceplane Russia and China Hopes Isn’t A Bomber
The X-37B – formally known as the Orbital Test Vehicle – is a small, reusable unmanned spaceplane operated by the United States Space Force (USSF) and an asset being closely watched by Russia and China.
First flown in 2010, it has since completed multiple long-duration missions in Earth orbit and returned autonomously to a runway. Think of it as an automated and much smaller version of the Space Shuttle.
In August 2025, the X-37B launched its eighth mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, and it remains active to this day, serving as what USSF describes as a “flexible space test platform” for emerging technologies.
X-37B. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
And despite all the publicly recorded information about the X-37B and its activities, much about its payloads, orbital behavior, and even its long-term mission plans remains completely classified.
That’s why, despite the press releases, it remains far less iconic and recognizable than the earlier Space Shuttle. And that opacity has fueled speculation from foreign governments and Western analysts alike that the craft could one day serve as something a little more daunting: a space bomber.
What X-37B Can Do – and What We Know
At 29 feet long with only a modest wingspan, the X-37B is by no means a large aircraft – especially compared with the shuttle. It’s also capable of landing on runways without any crew.
Its design is the result of decades of development in spacecraft reentry and thermal protection.
Though it is technically “old” in 2025, it remains a remarkable piece of hardware that predates Elon Musk’s reusable rockets.
Over the years, the vehicle has performed multiple missions, some of which last many months at a time – and in some cases, well over a year. It has, therefore, accumulated thousands of days in orbit so far.
The X-37B’s abilities have continued to expand since its first flight, too. During a recent mission that lasted 434 days in orbit, the aircraft demonstrated an “aerobraking” maneuver.
In short, it used atmospheric drag over repeated passes to shift its orbit more efficiently, thereby using less fuel. It also used its time in space to conduct experiments in “space-domain awareness,” meaning it used sensors and other hardware to study its orbital environment.
The Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 successfully landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility Oct. 27, 2019. The X-37B OTV is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.
Among the most recent experiments officially confirmed were tests involving a high-bandwidth inter-satellite communications system and the development of a new quantum inertial sensor designed for advanced navigation. What does it mean? Put simply: navigating even when GPS signals are disrupted.
Given the impressive capabilities of the aircraft and the fact that new space-based technologies are still being tested, it’s no wonder it’s widely considered a potential threat.
Why China, Russia, and Others Fear the X-37B
While the capabilities being tested allow the X-37B to operate in space for longer, use less fuel, and help develop new technologies, it could do so much more.
For Beijing and Moscow, the uncertainty around what exactly the X-37B carries, its maneuverability, and potential future upgrades are all areas for concern – especially as both nations are now beginning to work on their own reusable spaceplanes.
The threat is obvious, but neither will explicitly say it: the X-37B could be used to drop bombs from space.
The aircraft’s orbit-to-Earth reusability with runway-landing capability means that the X-37B could, in theory, host payloads capable of de-orbiting rapidly and striking targets on Earth.
It would be an unprecedented feat, but one that isn’t out of the realm of possibility – and certainly isn’t impossible given today’s technological advances and current capabilities.
And, the X-37B’s demonstrated ability to perform aerobraking and orbit changes suggests a level of maneuvering flexibility that very few satellites currently possess.
That kind of flexibility, which can see the X-37B move into highly elliptical orbits, could enable surprise maneuvers while remaining in orbit.
That means sudden orbital-plane shifts or re-entry from unexpected, unusual vectors, thereby bypassing detection and outsmarting current counter-space defense technologies.
These are the things we know, too.
Add to these the fact that many of its missions remain classified and its payloads undisclosed.
There’s a serious amount of ambiguity here that rightly generates concern among observers in Russia and China.
Neither country can be truly sure whether the American space plane is simply testing satellites, sensors, or communications hardware – or whether it is holding new technologies that could be weaponized in the future.
For now, the X-37B remains a test vehicle, and not a weapon – at least, as far as we know.
But its secrecy, maneuverability, and potential growth plan are clearly concerning enough that China and Russia are rushing to develop competing platforms.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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