The Department of the Air Force is reevaluating its procurement of satellites for a low Earth orbit military constellation. Funding for the program is paused in fiscal year 2026, while officials assess if SpaceX’s Starshield satellites offer comparable capabilities at a lower cost.
The proposed 2026 budget suspends procurement of data-transport satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a mesh network designed for secure communications and missile tracking. This could affect the procurement of up to 140 satellites for Transport Layer Tranche 3, planned for 2026 deployment in 2028. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman confirmed this possibility, stating, “Now we have to look at what are the other avenues to deliver, potentially, a commercial, proliferated low Earth orbit constellation…So we are simply looking at alternatives as we look to the future as to what’s the best way to scale this up to the larger requirements for data transport.”
The PWSA is a flagship program aiming to create a resilient network of hundreds of satellites. The program utilizes competitive procurements, awarding batches of satellites to different contractors. Saltzman assured lawmakers that satellites already ordered for the first two tranches will continue as planned.
The potential alternative is SpaceX’s Starshield program, a militarized version of Starlink. The Air Force is considering replacing Tranche 3 satellites with spacecraft from SpaceX’s “Milnet” network of 480 Starshield satellites. These would use optical laser cross-links, integrating with commercial satellites in a hybrid mesh network. Unlike PWSA satellites, Milnet satellites would be funded and procured by the Space Force under an existing National Reconnaissance Office contract.
This shift has raised competition concerns. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) voiced his concerns during a hearing, stating, “No competition, no open architecture, no leveraging a dynamic space ecosystem. This is a massive and important contract…Doesn’t handing this to SpaceX make us dependent on their proprietary technology and avoid the very positive benefits of competition and open architecture?” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink responded that no decisions have been made regarding Milnet's use for data transport, stating, “How we field that going forward into the future is something that’s still under consideration, and we will look at the acquisition of that.”
Cancelling Transport Layer Tranche 3 could significantly impact satellite manufacturers. The Space Development Agency, which manages PWSA, has a 2026 budget of approximately $5 billion. Industry sources question potential duplication with the PWSA Transport Layer and the possibility of combining the two programs.