Space-based tracking, missile warning drive budget growth
A new analysis of the Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 defense budget finds that the proposed surge in Space Force spending is concentrated in missions like moving-target tracking, missile warning, command and control, as well as in classified programs.
The report, written by Aerospace Corp. analyst Robert Wilson, finds that more than three-quarters of the proposed increase is concentrated in these mission areas. With a proposed 120 percent increase, “you might expect that every capability area, every mission area that they support would grow,” he told SpaceNews. “And that's not what you see with this request.”
Instead, he said, “There's a clear vision for how they want to use space in this year's request. It's not just ‘let's make every program healthy.’”
At the top of the list is space-based air-moving target indication, or AMTI, a new mission aimed at tracking aircraft from orbit. At $7.9 billion, it is the largest unclassified Space Force program in the request. The Space Data Network, a planned low Earth orbit mesh network for moving military data, ranks second.
Both programs were launched under Golden Dome in fiscal 2026 but are categorized as “Space Superiority” programs in the 2027 request.
Satellite-based missile warning and tracking are also big winners. The Space Force is seeking $3.6 billion for its low Earth orbit missile-warning and tracking constellation, up $1.9 billion, while a companion medium Earth orbit system would receive $1.4 billion, more than twice its 2026 funding. Wilson said the steady growth of missile warning and tracking has been one of the clearest trends in military space budgets over the past five years.
The big caveat
Whether the Space Force actually gets its proposed $71.3 billion remains uncertain. The base request is $59.2 billion, with another $12.1 billion dependent on Congress passing a reconciliation package.
But Wilson points to one number that suggests the buildup isn't intended to be temporary: The White House projects roughly $69.6 billion for the Space Force in fiscal 2028 without another reconciliation package.
“I think that's telling kind of how the White House and how the Pentagon are viewing space,” he said.
Congress is also showing considerable support for increased space spending. The House Appropriations Committee has backed about 94 percent of the administration’s base Space Force request, even as the fate of reconciliation remains unresolved. As Wilson put it, there is “absolutely a risk for this year,” but lawmakers are still planning for much of the proposed increase.
|
