WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Force leaders warn there is a widening gap between the service’s budget and its expanding mission requirements.
Brig. Gen. Brian Denaro, the Space Force’s director of plans and programs, aired concerns about the service’s ability to meet growing demands with current funding levels.
Speaking Sept. 11 at the Global Aerospace Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Denaro noted the Space Force’s budget growth since its establishment five years ago. However, he emphasized that current funding falls short of what is needed to meet military forces’ needs for satellite services — including GPS, communications, weather forecasting, missile warning, and remote sensing — while simultaneously modernizing the entire space architecture to counter potential anti-satellite threats from China and Russia. “We’re going to need to invest in new capabilities,” Denaro stated.
His comments echoed sentiments from Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who recently suggested that the Space Force’s nearly $30 billion budget should be two to three times larger in order to address emerging needs.
What Kendall describes as a disparity between budget and mission scope comes as U.S. officials warn of advancing technologies being developed by adversaries to disrupt or disable American satellites during potential conflicts. This threat landscape underscores the difficulties in meeting current operational demands within existing budgets, Denaro noted.
As debates over defense spending continue in Washington, the Space Force’s financial challenges highlight broader questions about U.S. preparedness for future conflicts in the increasingly contested domain of space.
Calls for increased funding mark a departure from the rhetoric surrounding the Space Force’s creation in 2019. Initially, proponents of the new service emphasized its lean design. At the time, advocates assured lawmakers that establishing the Space Force would not significantly increase military spending. They argued that the new branch would simply reorganize existing space-related personnel and assets from the Air Force, resulting in minimal additional costs.
However, Space Force leaders now contend that circumstances have changed since the service’s inception. They point to the rapidly evolving nature of space as a contested domain and the increasing reliance on satellite-based capabilities for modern military operations.
Budget realities and future priorities
The U.S. Space Force’s fiscal year 2024 budget was $29 billion. While falling short of the service’s $30 billion request, this figure represents a notable increase from the $26.3 billion enacted for fiscal 2023.
Kendall, in recent comments to DefenseNews, highlighted the unique budgetary challenges facing the Space Force. A substantial portion of its funding is dedicated to research and development, limiting flexibility to address immediate needs. Kendall emphasized the critical importance of securing U.S. space assets and the potential risks associated with underinvestment in this domain.
Denaro during his talk at the aerospace summit underscored the Space Force’s role in the broader strategic shift towards great power competition. “The secretary is focused on reoptimizing the department for great power competition, and the Space Force has a big piece of that,” Denaro stated.
New initiatives being planned include the establishment of a “space futures” command for long-term modernization planning and enhancements to training infrastructure. “We’re standing up a new officer training course that’s focused on preparing the guardians of tomorrow for the challenges of the future,” Denaro explained.
The Space Force is also pushing for increased investment in space launch services, currently budgeted at $1 billion to $2 billion annually. “We need to put more capabilities on orbit,” Denaro emphasized.
As technologies continue to be developed by the space industry to support military needs, Denaro said a budget increase would be needed to capitalize on commercial innovations. “We’re hoping that there’s an increase in the budget so we can get after those things that the joint force needs.”
