President Trump’s plan to create a new Space Force military service would cost $13 billion over five years, according to a new Air Force estimate.
The service said the Pentagon would need to request $3.32 billion next year as part of the president’s proposed budget request to Congress, according to a memo by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson described to the Washington Examiner. The Pentagon would also need to spend another $10 billion over the next four years.
The Space Force could be the first new military service since the Air Force was created after World War II and the cost has been one of the biggest unanswered questions. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently estimated it would cost billions of dollars.
[Related: Trump’s Space Force gets praise from top Democrat and the Air Force]
The Air Force estimate was first reported Monday by Defense One, the day Wilson gave an address and announced plans to expand the service by 25 percent, the largest increase since the Cold War. The service handles about 80 percent of military space operations but could cede that to the new space service. Air Force leaders had spoken out against the proposal last year, but have signaled their support since Trump called for the new service.
Proponents of the Space Force on Capitol Hill, including Republican members of the House and Senate armed services committees, have said the costs were not likely to be high to create the service. The estimated $13 billion is still a relatively small amount in a Pentagon budget that could reach $674 billion this year.
But Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said he is strongly opposed to creating a new military service and wants to take a closer look at whether segregating space operations is the best use of taxpayer money.
If the midterm elections hand Democrats a majority in the House, Smith could lead the committee beginning next year as it weighs a multi-billion Pentagon request for one of Trump’s signature initiatives.
