Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), said the U.S. Space Force expects to see its budget increase in the next few years as the Department of Defense (DoD) prioritizes spending on space platforms and recognizes space as a warfighting domain, C4ISRNET reported Friday.
The new service branch is working on budget requests for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Thompson said he believes those proposals will include increased funding for space systems.
“We pulsed up the space portfolio significantly to address users’ needs,” he said. “I can’t give you the exact dollars and obviously it’s all pre-decisional. But the [Deputy’s Management Action Group] and many other DoD leaders are clearly sending a message that across the [Future Years Defense Program], the importance of the space enterprise is growing and needs to grow further.”
The Department of the Air Force requested a budget of $15.4 billion for the Space Force in FY 2021, up from $14.6 billion in funds the department asked for the service in FY 2020.