Space Takes Big Hits

Sept. 28, 2005

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

Space Takes Big Hits: The defense appropriators took aim at key space programs, cutting nearly $500 million from USAF research & development programs. The reductions include:

• $250 million from the Transformational Satellite Communications program for concerns over technical maturity.”

• $125.8 million from the Space Based Radar for “excessive program growth.”

• $100 million from the Space Based Infrared System satellite program also for “excessive program growth.”

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

Trending Stories

USAF’s ‘Re-Optimization’: Top Leaders Rule on What’s In, What’s Out

F-16 Pilot Awarded Silver Star for Dodging Surface-to-Air Missiles over Yemen

Airman Wounded in Shooting One of Few Air Guardsmen on DC Mission

What the Air Force Transport Fleet Needs to Meet Surging Demand

Related

What the Air Force Must Do to Prepare for the Next War

Dec. 4, 2025
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.

Support for NATO Reaches New High in Reagan Institute Polling

Dec. 4, 2025
More than three-fourths of Americans would support using force to support NATO’s collective defense, according to the Ronald Reagan Institute’s latest annual National Defense Survey. The report comes as the Pentagon prepares to unveil its new National Defense Strategy, the lodestar for multiyear planning. It is expected to emphasize security…

Thunderbird F-16 Crashes in California, Pilot OK

Dec. 3, 2025
An Air Force F-16 Thunderbird crashed Dec. 3 near Death Valley, Calif., with the pilot ejecting safely. In a statement, the Thunderbirds—officially the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron—said the incident occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time “during a training mission over controlled airspace in California.”

MDA Picks Diverse Contractor Pool to Compete for Homeland Defense Projects

Dec. 3, 2025
The Missile Defense Agency chose a diverse pool of more than 1,000 companies to compete for task orders through its Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered defense effort—a $151 billion contract mechanism to experiment, test, and prototype capabilities for Golden Dome and other homeland defense needs.

100th KC-46 Joins the Air Force Fleet

Dec. 3, 2025
The U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus fleet hit a major milestone Dec. 2 with the delivery of its 99th and 100th aircraft at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

NRO’s Proliferated Satellite Constellation Outperforming Expectations

Dec. 3, 2025
The National Reconnaissance Office is seeing “great output” from its constellation of proliferated low Earth orbit satellites and is working with the Space Force and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to operationalize the capability, according to Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Chris Povak. 

Space Force Weighs Range Upgrades to Support Reusable Rockets

Dec. 2, 2025
The Space Force is planning improvements at its launch ranges to better accommodate the logistics and infrastructure demands that come with the launch industry’s shift toward reusable rockets, according to the commanders of the service’s two launch deltas.