IRIA News

The United States Department of Defense has unveiled its plans to ramp up investments in the space warfare domain. A recent statement by the Pentagon on May 21, 2024, outlined the importance of maintaining its edge in space as competitors attempt to shift the balance in the domain.

During a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing, John D. Hill, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense, highlighted essential investments in the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2025 budget request. These investments are crucial for maintaining competitiveness with adversaries in space warfare.

“We are clearly in a time of rapid change in the space strategic environment,” Hill told the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. “One that does not favor the slow or those resistant to change.”

He noted efforts by China and Russia to rapidly field space and counter space capabilities meant to degrade and challenge the joint forces’ use of space-based services that provide warfighters with key advantages on the battlefield. “The scale and scope of the threats in space present significant risks to the American people, our national interests, [and] to allies and partners,” Hill said.

Hill was joined by Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for space acquisition and integration, and Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations, in testifying before the subcommittee. They further underscored the need for urgent action to maintain U.S. leadership in space.

“Space has never been more critical to the security of our nation, and the success or failure of the joint force depends heavily upon the capabilities that we present,” Guetlein said. “Repeated actions by the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China underscore the urgency for action. 

“Although we still maintain control of space over our competitors, they are still working hard to close the gap and assert their dominance in space,” he added. “We cannot let this happen.”

Space Defense Budget 2025

This year, the U.S. Department of Defense has put forward a budget request that includes $33.7 billion for space programs in fiscal year 2025. The request includes $2.4 billion for space launch capabilities; $1.5 billion for more resilient position, navigation, and timing; and $4.2 billion for more resilient and protected satellite communications.

The request also includes $4.7 billion to develop new missile warning and tracking architectures and $12.3 billion for a range of other capabilities aimed at increasing the resiliency of existing space architectures. 

Commercial space integration strategy

The Pentagon statement highlighted the Department of Defense’s commercial space integration strategy which outlines the department’s approach to harnessing private-sector space technology innovation.

The strategy has four priorities to achieve integration with the commercial partners.

• The strategy calls for outlining the Department of Defense’s requirements in contracts and other agreements to ensure commercial solutions are available when needed.   
• It calls for the integration of commercial solutions into defense architecture during peacetime, including planning, training, and day-to-day operations, to ensure warfighters can seamlessly utilize those solutions during crisis or conflict.   
• The strategy calls for protecting and defending against threats to U.S. national security space assets, including those in space and on the ground, and commercial space capabilities, where appropriate.  
• The strategy emphasizes that the Department of Defense will use its full range of financial, contractual, and policy tools to support the development of new, commercial space solutions that have the potential to support the joint force.   

During his testimony at the Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing, Hill said the Department of Defense will continue to advance on key policy objectives to ensure the U.S. maintains its edge in space. “I believe the progress we’ve already made together will pay dividends for years to come,” he said.