Budget impasse imperils 1 in 10 Space Force programs, new chief says

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess speaks during his change of responsibility ceremony on Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 3, 2026. Schiess succeeded Gen. Chance Saltzman as the third CSO of the U.S. Space Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A stopgap budget measure passed by lawmakers earlier this month may have averted a government shut down, but the continuing resolution set to stretch until mid-December will still carry considerable consequences for the Space Force, according to its new top uniformed official.

“We’re thankful that we have a CR for going into October [1], but I would really be more thankful if we had a budget,” Gen. Douglas Schiess, who was sworn in as the chief of space operations Sept. 3, said during a briefing with reporters today.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Air and Space Forces Association conference here, the general said roughly “90 percent” of the Space Force’s programs come from last year — meaning they can continue under a CR. But about 10 percent of the Space Force’s planned efforts can’t proceed without a new spending bill, or a special congressional carveout known as an anomaly, according to Schiess.

“It’s gonna slow us down, and the threat is not slowing down, so we have to continue to get after that. So I just urge our congressional colleagues and folks to get after getting us the budget,” he said.

Space Force Chief Master Sgt. John Bentivegna noted alongside Schiess that emerging missions like space control and space superiority previously “didn’t exist.” That means the Space Force “need[s] to be able to move forward and get an acquisition process so we can build and take possession of the systems” the service requires to accomplish its goals, he said.

Schiess takes the reins at a potential inflection point for the Space Force: After just seven years of existence, the Space Force is asking for a whopping $71.2 billion in fiscal 2027, up from $40 billion enacted in FY26. And by the end of the decade, officials are pushing to roughly double the nascent branch to roughly 20,000 Guardians and civilians.

The FY27 budget itself, however, currently hangs in the balance. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have cast doubt on the Trump administration’s $350 billion dollar reconciliation request for the Pentagon. The continuing resolution will also stretch until after the November elections, where polling shows Democrats are poised to potentially retake the House and Senate races.

Schiess in his first major keynote address as the Space Force’s top official today outlined three key priorities of “forging the Guardian ethos,” arming and growing the Space Force and “integrating Guardian power at scale.” He also echoed explosive remarks delivered by Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who on Monday revealed that the Space Force possesses “space control weapons” in orbit.

“Let me be crystal clear: today, Guardians operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the joint force against space-enabled attacks,” Schiess said during his keynote. “And in the coming years, with the resources entrusted to us — by the way, we need your help, Congress — we will make disciplined and responsible choices about how we build and sustain our combat advantage, which means scaling our ability to respond to threats.”

Asked why officials chose to finally disclose orbital weaponry after years of circumspection, Schiess during the roundtable reasoned the disclosure provides deterrent value. He also noted that military leaders have openly discussed what they describe as concerning behaviors by Russia and China, such as the ability to grapple other satellites and change their orbits.

“I think at this point we are trying to say that we also need capabilities to not only defend the joint force from space-enabled attacks but defend our assets,” he said.

Within the Pentagon, “we’ve talked about it, and it’s time to talk about that we have the capabilities to make sure that we can do what the joint force needs us to do.”

2026年9月3日，道格拉斯·希斯将军在马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地举行的责任交接仪式上发表讲话。希斯接替钱斯·萨尔茨曼将军，成为美国太空军第三任太空作战部长。（美国空军照片，摄影：埃里克·迪特里希）

马里兰州国家港——据太空部队新任最高军官称，本月早些时候立法者通过的一项临时预算措施可能避免了政府停摆，但这项将持续到 12 月中旬的持续拨款决议仍将对太空部队产生相当大的影响。

“我们很庆幸有一份持续拨款法案可以执行到 10 月 [1] 日，但如果能有预算，我会更加感激，”9 月 3 日宣誓就任太空作战部长的道格拉斯·希斯将军今天在与记者的简报会上说。

这位将军在空军和太空部队协会会议间隙发表讲话时表示，太空部队大约“90%”的项目都来自去年——这意味着它们可以在一项持续拨款法案（CR）下继续进行。但据希斯称，太空部队约10%的计划如果没有新的支出法案或国会特批的所谓“例外情况”就无法进行。

“这会拖慢我们的进度，但威胁却丝毫没有减弱，所以我们必须继续努力。因此，我敦促我们的国会同僚和各位同仁尽快争取到预算，”他说。

太空部队首席军士长约翰·本蒂韦尼亚与希斯一同指出，太空控制和太空优势等新兴任务此前“并不存在”。他表示，这意味着太空部队“需要能够推进并启动采购流程，以便我们能够建造并接收”该部队为实现其目标所需的系统。

希斯接任太空军司令之际，正值太空军可能迎来转折点：成立仅七年，太空军就申请2027财年高达712亿美元的预算，远高于2026财年实际获得的400亿美元。到本十年末，官员们正力推将这个新兴军种的规模扩大近一倍，达到约2万名太空卫士和文职人员。

然而，2027财年预算本身目前仍悬而未决。两党议员都对特朗普政府提出的3500亿美元五角大楼预算协调请求表示质疑。此外，这项持续拨款决议也将持续到11月大选之后，而民调显示，民主党有望在大选中重新夺回众议院和参议院的控制权。

希斯今天以太空军最高官员的身份发表了首次重要主题演讲，概述了三个关键优先事项：“塑造‘守护者’精神”、武装并壮大太空军以及“大规模整合‘守护者’力量”。他还呼应了空军部长特洛伊·梅因克周一发表的爆炸性言论，梅因克透露太空军在轨道上拥有“太空控制武器”。

“我要明确指出：如今，卫士部队在轨运行的武器能够防御来自太空的攻击，从而保护联合部队免受此类攻击，”希斯在主题演讲中说道。“在未来几年，凭借我们被赋予的资源——顺便说一句，我们需要国会的支持——我们将做出审慎负责的选择，以构建和维持我们的作战优势，这意味着我们将扩大应对威胁的能力。”

在圆桌会议上，当被问及为何官员们在多年谨慎之后最终选择公开轨道武器时，希斯解释说，公开轨道武器具有威慑作用。他还指出，军方领导人曾公开讨论过他们认为俄罗斯和中国的一些令人担忧的行为，例如两国具备拦截其他卫星并改变其轨道的能力。

他说：“我认为，目前我们想表达的是，我们不仅需要具备防御太空攻击的能力来保护联合部队，还需要具备防御我们自身资产的能力。”

五角大楼内部表示：“我们已经讨论过这个问题，现在是时候讨论我们是否具备确保我们能够完成联合部队需要我们做的事情的能力了。”