The final tranche of one of many House Growth Company’s three satellite tv for pc constellations is on maintain as officers research the choices for changing a deliberate “information transport layer” with a number of business options. President Trump’s proposed 2026 protection price range zeroes out funding for these satellites.
SDA’s Transport Layer is meant to be the “spine” of the Pentagon’s Joint All Area Command and Management system for shifting information from sensors to shooters. The experimental Tranche 0 satellites have launched and contracts are already awarded to construct greater than 300 Tranche 1 and a pair of satellites starting this summer season and persevering with into 2027.
Now the Transport Layer’s Tranche 3 unsure. A Division of the Air Drive spokesperson instructed Air & House Forces Journal that the 2026 price range request despatched final week consists of round $1.8 billion to proceed Tranches 0, 1, and a pair of—however not Tranche 3—despite the fact that Tranche 3’s preliminary funding was included in fiscal 2025 and contracts had been anticipated this 12 months.
“DOD is conducting an Evaluation of Alternate options to find out the necessities and structure for proliferated SATCOM, to incorporate each government-owned and business,” the spokesperson mentioned. “A ultimate determination on this structure has not been made, however there’s and can proceed to be funding in business SATCOM applicable to fulfill warfighter wants.”
An SDA spokesperson referred inquiries to the division.
The House Drive has but to launch detailed budgets for SDA’s Transport Layer program, however its funding does look like down some $300 million from final 12 months’s request.
A number of lawmakers voiced considerations about potential cuts to the Tranche 3 Transport Layer to Chief of House Operations Gen. B. Likelihood Saltzman throughout hearings in June.
On June 5, Rep. Derek Tran (D-Calif.) requested Saltzman about “rumors” that Tranches 2 and three can be canceled and if he would decide to persevering with Tranche 2. Saltzman endorsed Tranche 2 however didn’t touch upon Tranche 3, saying “we’re dedicated to creating positive that that program is profitable and looking out on the broad array of capabilities which may complement it.”
On June 24, queried by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) each about doubtlessly cancelling Tranche 3, Saltzman indicated that part can be on maintain in 2026. “There’s nonetheless some cash in Tranche 2 to proceed to flesh out that house information transport community,” Saltzman mentioned. “Now we’ve got to take a look at what are the opposite avenues to ship doubtlessly a business proliferated low Earth orbit constellation. And so we’re merely alternate options as we glance to the longer term as to what’s one of the best ways to scale this as much as the bigger necessities for information transport.”
SDA despatched a discover to trade final 12 months detailing plans for scores of Tranche 3 satellites in 2025, however earlier this spring the company known as off deliberate solicitations, saying they might “not proceed till additional budgetary steering has been acquired.”
A funding wpuld push again potential Tranche 3 Transport launches past the initially deliberate begin in late 2028.
Nonetheless, SDA Director Derek M. Tournear indicated finally week’s Protection One Tech Summit that these information transport satellites wanted to assist SDA’s Monitoring Layer stay on monitor.
The principle different to the Transport Layer is “MILNET,” a secretive “future proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) satellite tv for pc communications structure that may present international, built-in, and resilient capabilities throughout the Fight Energy, International Mission Information Transport, and Satellite tv for pc Communications mission areas,” in response to the DAF spokesperson.
Tran and Coons each mentioned they had been instructed MILNET will encompass SpaceX business satellites in low-Earth orbit, however Air Drive Secretary Troy Meink mentioned was not essentially appropriate. “MILNET … shouldn’t be taken as only a system,” he mentioned. “How we discipline that going ahead into the longer term is one thing that’s nonetheless into consideration.”
The DAF spokesperson mentioned necessities and the structure for MILNET are nonetheless in improvement, and urged the division is trying to make sure neither SpaceX nor anybody else will dominate this system.
“We’re additionally investigating communication between totally different optical crosslinks with a view to assist a scalable multi-vendor satellite tv for pc communication structure that avoids vendor lock,” the spokesperson mentioned.
A Pentagon comptroller doc lists “pLEO SATCOM (MILNET)” as earmarked for $277.4 million in fiscal 2026.
A House Methods Command program known as pLEO that manages business satellite tv for pc communications contracts for organizations throughout the Division of Protection. SpaceX has dominated that program via its Starlink and Starshield constellations, however it’s unclear if or how that shall be associated to MILNET.