{"id":342896,"date":"2025-12-11T11:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T11:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/342896\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T11:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T11:10:11","slug":"lawmakers-push-boost-for-space-data-transport-missile-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/342896\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers Push Boost for Space Data Transport, Missile Warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org<\/p>\n

The final version of the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill calls for adding $1.2 billion to the Space Force\u2019s research and development accounts, an increase that\u2019s mostly split between two efforts: expanding the service\u2019s low-Earth orbit data transport network and boosting its space-based missile warning and tracking capabilities.<\/p>\n

House and Senate lawmakers on Dec. 7 released the compromise version<\/a> of the 2026 National Defense Authorization bill, and the House cleared a key procedural vote ahead of expected passage Dec. 10.\t\t<\/p>\n

The bill proposes giving the Space Force $16.6 billion for research and development. That includes a $500 million boost for the Space Development Agency\u2019s Tranche 3 Transport Layer and $474 million for the polar segment of the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system.<\/p>\n

While the NDAA does not actually appropriate funds for the Pentagon, it does include spending recommendations that offer a sense of congressional authorizers\u2019 priorities.<\/p>\n

The Transport Layer funding, if adopted in the annual appropriations bill, would increase SDA\u2019s fiscal 2026 budget for the program to $1.8 billion. That comes as the program\u2019s future is in question amid a Space Force review of its future data transport architecture<\/a>. Its budget request nixed funding for Tranche 3 Transport Layer satellites, stalling plans to award contracts in 2026. Lawmakers, however, want that funding reinstated.<\/p>\n

The Space Force\u2019s ongoing review\u2014which is expected to wrap up in time for the fiscal 2027 budget release next spring\u2014considers what combination of data transport satellites the service will need in the future. Along with SDA\u2019s architecture, the service is weighing at least one other option, a lesser-known constellation called MILNET, which was developed by the National Reconnaissance Office and USSF. SpaceX is reported to be the sole contractor, but defense officials have said the plan is for multiple companies to provide spacecraft an ground terminals.<\/p>\n

Both constellations are designed to provide low-latency communications to military operators and are in the early stages of development and fielding. It\u2019s not clear how many MILNET satellites are in orbit today. SDA has launched 61 transport satellites and plans to launch another 84 spacecraft next year as part of the program\u2019s Tranche 1. Another 182 spacecraft are on contract beyond that.\t\t<\/p>\n

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in June, lawmakers questioned the Space Force\u2019s plan. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., argued that MILNET has \u201cno competition, no open architecture, no leveraging a dynamic space ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said they hadn\u2019t made any final decisions on how to proceed.<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, acting USSF acquisition executive, told reporters in September at AFA\u2019s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, that the discussion was still in the \u201cactive debate\u201d stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re talking about is, what\u2019s the future? Do you expand on that in the exact same format? Do you expand on that with different systems? How do you build a competitive aspect to that?\u201d he said. \u201cThese are all debate topics. We clearly want to maintain the connectivity. Exactly how we\u2019re going to mechanically do that, both contractually and technically, is the piece that\u2019s under debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Missile Warning & Tracking<\/p>\n

The Space Force\u2019s fiscal 2026 budget request did not include funding for the polar leg of its Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program<\/a>. Instead, the service planned to rely on $723 million in reconciliation funding, which Congress passed this summer. The $474 million plus-up would give the service nearly $1.2 billion for the effort.\t\t<\/p>\n

The bill doesn\u2019t offer an explanation for the increase, though it does include a provision requiring the Space Force to adjust its acquisition strategy to add a payload called the Advanced Payload Suite-Alpha, APS-A, to the program of record.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for Next-Gen OPIR Polar. It has been developing the satellite\u2019s mission payload alongside Ball Aerospace, which is now owned by BAE Systems. The Space Force plans to field two polar satellites as part of the program.<\/p>\n

A second Next-Gen OPIR segment, built by Lockheed Martin, will reside in geosynchronous orbit. Those satellites also feature the APS-A payload.<\/p>\n

Next-Gen OPIR spacecraft are likely to play a role in the early phases of the Pentagon\u2019s Golden Dome effort, which will stitch together existing and new systems to create an advanced shield to protect the U.S. from missile threats. The department expects the first segments of that capability to be operational in 2028, according to Golden Dome Director Gen. Michael Guetlein.\n<\/p>\n

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[171839,171840,171841,37019,79,168595,193,25880,171842],"class_list":["post-342896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-data-transport-satellites","tag-milnet","tag-next-gen-opir","tag-northrop-grumman","tag-science","tag-sda","tag-space","tag-space-development-agency","tag-transport-layer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}