Space Force $30B defense budget proposal: What’s included?

The DOD proposed its largest Space Force budget ever
Goal: Keep up with China's space technology advances amid security threats
Pentagon wants to advance satellite communications, missile warning systems

Updated: Mar 15, 2023 / 10:05 AM CDT

FILE – China’s national flag is displayed next to the Pentagon logo at the Pentagon, Monday, May 7, 2012. The Pentagon will load up on advanced missiles, space defense and modern jets in its largest defense request in decades in order to meet the threat it perceives from China. The Defense Department’s chief financial officer says the spending path will have the military’s annual budget cross the $1 trillion threshold in just a matter of years. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Department of Defense (DOD) released the Biden administration’s defense budget for the 2024 fiscal year on Monday, including a 13% increase in funding for the nation’s Space Force.

The administration said it is focusing its efforts on competing with China, hoping to increase its Space Force budget due to the threat of Chinese space technology advances.

“As our National Defense Strategy makes clear, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is our pacing challenge,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in the statement.

Because of this, the Pentagon is seeking rapid modernization of its air, space and nuclear weapons.

The DOD’s goal with the new proposed budget is to create offensive options for the Space Force, especially since space has proven to be vital in the war in Ukraine and a critical front in any future confrontation.

Of the $842 billion that the administration is asking Congress for, $30 billion would be allocated to successfully advance and develop the nation’s Space Force. The budget also asked for an additional $3.3 billion to fund Space Force readiness.

The Space Force budget request included $19.2 billion for vital research, development, testing and engineering (RDT&E); $4.2 billion for procurement; $4.9 billion for operations and maintenance and $1.2 billion for military personnel, according to a breakdown by Space News.

Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord said the proposed budget is the “largest space budget ever.”

The Pentagon is hoping to make its satellite communications more resilient to jamming or attack and rapidly field a new constellation of missile warning systems to assist in the detection, tracking and defense against a new generation of Chinese and Russian hypersonic missiles.

Recent events, such as the Chinese spy balloon, have raised concerns over Chinese intelligence and its nation’s space technology. The DOD is hoping an increase in funding for the Space Force will be able to help the U.S. keep up with advancing technologies.

“The funding is a critical step to combat emerging space threats and to meet our pacing challenge,” the service said in the overview documents released Monday, C4ISRNET reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.