FY 2026 Defense Space Budget: Emergence of Golden Dome

The fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget process reveals large-scale changes in the Trump administration’s top-line budget and priorities for defense space activities. Collectively, the president’s FY 2026 budget submission ($26.3 billion for the Space Force) and the reconciliation act recently passed by Congress ($21.6 billion for space-focused projects within the Department of Defense) would amount to a nearly 40 percent increase for the Space Force from the FY 2025-enacted budget. Driving these changes: Golden Dome, the missile defense-focused project that is a core national security priority for the administration.

Author: Sam Wilson