“Disclosing this aerobraking maneuver could be the Space Force’s way of showing the world what the spaceplane is capable of,” Vivienne Machi writes for Aviation Week, “with an intended audience of anyone from allies and partners, adversaries, lawmakers, industry, potential recruits, and perhaps even the service itself.”

Machi adds that two other reasons for the revelation could include loosening up some of the agency’s historic and perhaps unnecessary security classification barriers, and/or wanting to prompt China and Russia to also step up communication about space maneuvers.