WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Space Force backed the administration’s proposal to more than double the service’s budget, telling senators on Thursday that a $71.1 billion request was “exactly what we need” to counter China’s rapidly expanding military capabilities in space.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess said most of the proposed increase would pay for weapons, facilities, training and other equipment rather than personnel. The request would add about 2,800 uniformed Guardians and 2,000 civilian employees, a major expansion for a service created in 2019 with a deliberately small workforce.
Schiess, appearing July 16 before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, said China was fielding counterspace weapons and military satellite networks at a “breathtakingly fast” pace.
Those capabilities include an intelligence and targeting network designed to track U.S. aircraft carriers and bombers across the Pacific and pass their locations to long-range weapons, he said. The Space Force must be able to disrupt that network while protecting U.S. satellites that provide communications, missile warning, navigation and targeting support to forces around the world.
