The U.S. Army will begin prioritizing counterspace capabilities in its budget requests starting in fiscal year 2027, according to a senior official.
Speaking at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Col. Pete Atkinson, space division chief at the Army Strategic Operations Directorate, called the move “a really consequential action.”
“This year during program budget review, we included counterspace capabilities for the first time in our strategic priority list,” Atkinson said. “That’s the Army prioritizing how important these consequential capabilities are in making sure that they get the requisite resources.”
Atkinson said the move comes after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo in late April calling for “a comprehensive transformation” of the force to focus on homeland defense and deterrence operations in the Indo-Pacific.
The memo called on the Army to prioritize investments in areas such as Golden Dome, cyber, electronic warfare, and counterspace capabilities.
“Calling it counterspace by name is really important,” Atkinson said, adding that the Army’s “interdiction” mission is “ubiquitous with counterspace.”
“What it’s getting at is counter-satellite communications, counter-surveillance and reconnaissance, and navigation warfare,” he said. “How do we protect friendly forces from threats emanating from the air and space domains? It’s really important for the Army. No one service has a monopoly on protection. We have to protect ourselves.”
Notably, the Army is also looking to establish its own space branch, according to Brig. Gen. Donald Brooks, deputy commander for operations at the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Brooks said he has been championing the space branch for the last few years, and the branch will be approved by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, “hopefully soon in the future.”