The Space Force will require “a fundamental shift” in its funding levels to safeguard U.S. assets in space while also responding to recent Chinese and Russian investments in the domain, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said during a March 26 webcast at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
“So, what I think we’re looking at is a fundamental shift, a step-function shift, in space capabilities through the Space Force budget, and if we don’t have that step function then we’re just doing the 3 or 4% inflation increases, and that doesn’t buy us capability,” Saltzman said during a nearly hour-long discussion and audience Q&A. “We’re just treading water.”
The Space Force chief called for annual funding increases of about 20% to enable the force to achieve its aim of protecting U.S. and allied satellites on orbit while also responding to adversaries’ investments. In particular, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched advanced surveillance satellites in recent years and built an arsenal of anti-satellite and electronic warfare systems.
Saltzman’s comments followed a Mitchell Institute analysis that explored the force’s mission and objectives and recommended funding adjustments commensurate with its aims. The February 2025 analysis, “Air Force and Space Force Vectors for the Incoming Trump Defense Team,” called for a 13% to 18% ($3.9 billion to $5.4 billion) spending increase during each of the following three years.
“The Space Force is now too small to meet its mission,” the report said. “It is funded with a scant 3.5 percent of the DOD (Department of Defense) budget and must support every military service component and every combatant commander with just over 9,000 military members. Other services have individual bases with greater populations.”
However, when asked whether the funding amount recommended by the report would be sufficient, Saltzman responded, “maybe not.”
The shortfall may in part be due to the federal budgeting process. Like other spending plans within the Defense Department, the Space Force’s budget is derived largely from prior-year spending levels. In the most recent budget, its funding request arose out of budget-level planning that occurred in late 2022, when its fiscal 2024 budget request was submitted.
At the time, the previous administration sought $30 billion for the Space Force for fiscal 2024. Congress trimmed that by about $1 billion. For the 2025 budget cycle, the DOD requested $29.4 billion — even lower than what it sought the year before. However, Congress only approved a continuing resolution to fund the government through September 30. The end result was another reduction. In effect, the Space Force’s budget was trimmed to $28.7 billion, or $300 million below its 2024 budget.
Given inflationary pressures, which further constrict spending, and amid continuing demands for the Space Force to do more — in the face of a relentless challenge from the CCP — Saltzman said the force faces the possibility of detrimental cuts.
“The bottom line is our appropriated money is less than we had in ’24, so we are literally shrinking in resources as a Space Force,” he said. “We have less to do more with, and so that’s a concern, and it’s starting to be a trend.”
“You’re talking about more than two years where you’re operating off the same basic year’s baseline that is stagnant, and in the face of an adversary who is not stagnant, I’m worried that we’re not going to be able to keep pace,” he said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has required each service branch to identify potential budget cuts and areas for reinvestment. While it is unknown at this point how the secretary’s order will affect the Space Force, Saltzman remained hopeful about funding for it. Further, President Donald Trump’s proposed missile defense program, Golden Dome, could at some point yield additional allocations.
“I think we’re in a good position” Saltzman said. “We’ve got a good story to tell, and like I said, everybody recognizes the criticality of space capabilities and, therefore, the Space Force. Now, it’s just about making the resourcing decisions to support it.”