Parsing the Space Force budget request has always been more of an art than a science. This year, with reconciliation funding and Golden Dome secrecy, is proving even more of a slog. My first crack; hopefully some clarity will appear once the J-books are released: breakingdefense.com/2026/04/gold...

Space Force shifts GPS III launch from ULA to SpaceX - Breaking Defense The shift follows Vulcan's February grounding under the National Security Space Launch program to resolve persistent problems with its solid rocket boosters.

Not great optics for ULA: breakingdefense.com/2026/03/spac...

What is the Pentagon’s ‘Space Data Network,’ and why does it matter for Golden Dome? - Breaking Defense The SDN will provide the communications pathways for integrating and moving data from missile warning/tracking sensors to interceptors in near-real time under the Golden Dome construct.

My attempt to explain the Space Force's Space Data Network, which will be both a linchpin and a long pole in the tent of the Trump admin's Golden Dome initiative: breakingdefense.com/2026/03/what...

How US military space operators are likely aiding the fight in Iran - Breaking Defense While senior officials have offered praise with few details, experts told Breaking Defense space ops likely include jamming or spoofing satellite communications.

Space operations in OEF: breakingdefense.com/2026/03/how-...

DOGE “cut muscle, not fat”; 26K experts rehired after brutal cuts Government brain drain will haunt US after DOGE abruptly terminated.

Because DOGE operated largely in secrecy, it may be months or even years before the public can assess the true cost of its impact.

Golden Dome: Space Force awards first space-based interceptor prototype contracts - Breaking Defense The Space Force did not identify the winners, saying their names are "protected by enhanced security measures."

breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...

Space Force to solicit prototype proposals for midcourse space-based missile interceptors - Breaking Defense Other than stating that the call is for hit-to-kill rather than directed-energy systems for shooting down adversary missiles during their orbital flight trajectory, the notice is lacking technical det...

So another SBI shoe drops. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/spac...

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”

🤯 www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

National Press Club Statement on President Trump’s Remarks on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 – The following statement on the President’s remarks about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is by National Press Club President Mike Balsamo. “The National Press Club is deeply troubl...

www.press.org/newsroom/nat...

Golden Dome SBIs will need to be defended from adversary attack: Experts - Breaking Defense The satellites will need to be defended "not only from adversary kinetic or local orbital issues, but also from cyber attacks, electronic jamming and laser attacks," said Patrick Binning, a professor ...

SBIs will require defensive capabilities to help protect them from adversary ASATS -- and that is a cost factor/tech challenge that is not often included in ongoing discussions about investment requirements. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...

Sigh.

US nuclear arsenal currently safe, reliable: STRATCOM nominee - Breaking Defense Vice Adm. Richard Correll said that Trump's announcement does not necessary mean detonating a test weapon — noting that neither China nor Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test in recent memory...

breakingdefense.com/2025/10/us-n...

EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon clamps down on military interactions with Congress - Breaking Defense A Pentagon memo, obtained by Breaking Defense, now mandates that all communication with Congress be routed through its main legislative affairs office.

Given the recent press crackdown, this is not surprising. They are limiting public information conduits in as many ways as possible. Watch for similar moves at other government agencies. breakingdefense.com/2025/10/pent...

The Pentagon’s revised press rules are unacceptable, journalists’ group says The Pentagon Press Association said the government’s policy still appears “designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution.”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Trump suggests using US cities as ‘training grounds’ for military Trump told a gathering of military leaders they should use American cities as “training grounds” to fight against what he called a “war from within.”

link.defensenews.com/click/417986...

German military to invest $41B in space capabilities - Breaking Defense "Satellite networks today are an Achilles' heel of modern societies. Whoever attacks them paralyzes entire nations,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

This is a big deal for Germany. I remember when no German politician would be willing to mention the words space and military in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence. breakingdefense.com/2025/09/germ...

Breaking Defense now has an encrypted in box for tips and shy sources: breakingdefense@proton.me

Stormy weather: DoD faces dearth of data from planned NOAA cuts - Breaking Defense The Space Force repurposes NOAA's older GOES weather imaging satellites to monitor weather over the Indian Ocean for Indo-Pacific Command.

Second and third order consequences are real. Sigh. breakingdefense.com/2025/08/stor...

Pentagon terminating JCIDS process as part of larger acquisition reform: Memo   - Breaking Defense “So, the way I read the memo is great, we can go a lot faster now but the big question that remains is, ‘Are we moving faster in the right direction?’” a service official said.

RIPS JCIDS, the US military's long-hated process for setting weapon system requirements. It remains to be seen if the proposed new plan will do any better, or slide off the deep end of pursuing speed at the expense of rigorous analysis about commanders' needs. breakingdefense.com/2025/08/pent...

Wow. That is awful

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to begin shutting down its operations CPB said it would cut a majority of its jobs by the end of September.

Sad Day: abcnews.go.com/Politics/cor...

Pete Buttigieg warns Democrats can't go back to status quo after President Trump Steve Inskeep speaks with former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about distrust in government and the status of the Democratic Party.

If you haven't heard this NPR interview with Pete Buttigieg, take a listen. He's soooo good in this. www.npr.org/2025/07/28/n...

Chinese sats appear to be attempting first-ever on-orbit refueling, sat tracking firms say - Breaking Defense "While this type of close approach activity does not automatically signify a military mission, it obviously could provide a co-orbital counterspace capability," expert Victoria Samson told Breaking De...

Catching up with Chineses shenanigans on orbit. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/chin...

Space Force is contracting with SpaceX for new, secretive MILNET SATCOM network - Breaking Defense The MILNET contract with SpaceX is being paid for by the Space Force but managed by the National Reconnaissance Office, sources said.

Space Force's MILNET revealed. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/spac...

Senate Republicans 'very close' to deal to protect key DoD spectrum in reconciliation language - Breaking Defense Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, where Boeing is headquartered, continues to raise concerns about potential interference with civil and military aviation.

The latest skirmish in the long-running DoD war with the telecoms industry over spectrum access. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/sena...

EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon's RDT&E budget revealed - Which next-gen systems get a cash influx in FY26? - Breaking Defense Breaking Defense obtained a copy of the Defense Department's FY26 budget request for RDT&E Programs. Here's what you should know.

Breaking Defense got the scoop on the admin's DoD RTD&E budget, both FY26 base and reconciliation. Surprise (not): Space Force is a big winner in the reconciliation stakes for Golden Dome related programs. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/excl...

Amid Trump, Musk blowup, canceling SpaceX contracts could cripple DoD launch program - Breaking Defense Elon Musk's SpaceX is already expected to conduct more than two dozen national security-related space launches over the next few years.

While the Trump-Musk social media trashfire may be great theater (🍿) if SpaceX contracts with DoD actually were canceled, it would be super problematic. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/amid...

DoD S-band needed for Golden Dome, border defense threatened by spectrum auction plans: CSIS - Breaking Defense Selling off the low S-band "is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea," Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, told Breaking Defense today.

Long-running DoD 'Spectrum Wars' with telecoms creeps into reconciliation debate, now with Golden Dome concerns added. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/dod-...

Russia's new Cosmos satellite orbiting near US sat; piques ASAT fears - Breaking Defense Based on its orbital pattern, independent astronomer Marco Langbroek said he suspected the new satellite is joining other Russian "sleeping interceptors."

New Russian Cosmos shadowing a US spy sat -- third time is a pattern. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/russ...

Space Force testing space-based sensors to track airborne targets - Breaking Defense Space-based capabilities could put current aerial tracking platforms in question, but top military brass have argued for options "from whatever domain or platform or system that comes [in]."

The Space Force is testing AMTI sats. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/spac...