6 May Chief of Space Operations General Chance Salzman, appearing before the Subcommittee on Defense of the House Appropriations Committee, drew attention to that, what he called a worrying trend towards flat budgets coupled with growing responsibilities. The hearing took place only a few days later, as the White House released a preliminary budget for 2026 The financial year, which keeps total defense spending flat 892,6 billion dollars - unchanged compared to the level 2025 financial year. The administration proposed an additional increase in defense spending by 113,3 A billion dollars, but only on condition, that Congress would pass a separate reconciliation bill on 150 billions of dollars, proposed by Republicans, which could potentially lead to, that total defense spending will exceed 1 a trillion dollars.
As the Pentagon is still debating the details of its budget request for 2026 year, and the White House released only a partial "narrow" budget plan, none of the participants, including Saltzman, Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth and Air Force Chief of Staff General David Alvin, could not comment on funding levels for specific programs. For the Space Force, the current financial uncertainty is the result of a difficult budget cycle 2025 year. According to the resolution, which Congress passed on 2025 The financial year, the service received 28,7 A billion dollars, what on 800 million dollars less, than was suggested, and on 300 million dollars less, than was allocated to 2024 The financial year.
Meanwhile, service responsibilities continue to expand, Salzman said. He outlined several new missions, assigned to the Space Force in recent years, including the ability to track ground and air targets, new space control operations, a significant extension of simulation, simulations and increasing the number of launch operations. The service's newest responsibility involves a next-generation missile defense system “Golden dome”, which will rely heavily on space sensors, interceptors and means of communication.
When Salzman was asked about his top funding priorities, he identified three key areas: accelerating the deployment of a common group of satellites in low Earth orbit, which is purchased by the Space Development Agency; strengthening the capabilities of "anti-space", which include defensive and offensive technologies to counter adversary anti-satellite weapons; the need to improve the testing and training infrastructure, including simulators and digital environments for testing equipment and tactics, as well as operator training.
Legislators were particularly interested in potential cost estimates for the construction of the "Golden Dome", but none of the participants could provide any details. In a report by the Congressional Budget Office, published 5 May, it was noted, that without detailed system specifications, it is difficult to predict the cost of deploying a network of space interceptor missiles. The report highlighted the difficulties, related to the development of such systems.
Source: https://spacenews.com/space-force-chief-makes-case-for-increased-funding-before-house-panel/