Stephen Whiting: Additional $2.3B Funding Needed for US Satellite Defense

The U.S. Space Force needs $1.1 billion and the U.S. Space Command $1.2 billion to counter Chinese and Russian threats on U.S. satellites, which are priority items left unfunded in the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2025 budget, according to Gen. Stephen Whiting, SPACECOM commander.

Whiting, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker and 2024 Wash100 winner, wrote in a memo to congressional committees that the funding is necessary, as China and Russia are developing anti-satellite weapons that threaten GPS satellite navigation, communications and U.S. military intelligence gathering, SpaceNews reported Monday.

In his memo, the SPACECOM head also pointed out to China and Russia’s “increasingly assertive actions” that threaten critical U.S. space infrastructure and put all American military branches at risk. He cited in particular Russia’s “acute threat” for its increasing focus on cyber, nuclear and space capability buildup.

At the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit held in early March, Whiting stressed that one of SPACECOM’s priorities is to counter threats and achieve space superiority whenever and wherever operations are necessary in all conflict levels.