The U.S. Air Force is considering scrapping its existing military satellite procurement plan and adopting SpaceX’s military-focused satellite constellation system, ‘Starshield’. Based on SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, Starshield is enhanced with added security, reconnaissance, and missile warning capabilities.
According to industry sources on the 31st, Republican Senator Kevin Cramer stated during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the 27th that he had heard the Air Force was considering canceling the Space Development Agency (SDA)’s T2TL (Tranche 2 Transport Layer) and T3TL (Tranche 3 Transport Layer) satellite procurement programs under the Department of Defense and instead moving forward with SpaceX’s Starshield satellites.
In response to Cramer’s remarks, the Air Force quickly issued a statement clarifying, “No decisions have been made regarding T2TL and T3TL,” adding, “We are evaluating all acquisition programs as part of the FY2026 budget review process.”
The Air Force’s reported shift from T2TL and T3TL to Starshield appears to be driven by budget considerations. Instead of launching new satellites, the Air Force sees Starshield—which already has a significant number of satellites deployed (118 as of late March)—as a cost-effective way to acquire the ‘Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA)’. PWSA is a project aimed at deploying hundreds of satellites in ‘low Earth orbit (LEO, around 1,000 km)’ to provide satellite communications, data transmission, and missile warnings. However, Starshield satellites operate at a lower altitude than PWSA’s required orbit, which had previously raised concerns about their eligibility for the bid.
T2TL and T3TL are key programs for acquiring satellites that form the core infrastructure of the Pentagon’s PWSA. York Space Systems and Northrop Grumman have already secured contracts for T2TL, while Terran Orbital—a partner of ‘Hanwha Systems’—was initially selected but later dropped due to a protest by ViaSat. The T3TL bidding process has not yet begun.
Senator Cramer expressed concerns, stating, “If the Air Force changes its existing plan, it could deal a significant blow to companies that have been developing military space systems.”
An industry insider noted, “Starshield was previously disqualified from bidding because it operates at 550 km, lower than PWSA’s required 1,000 km altitude.” They added, “If Starshield is adopted, technical questions about PWSA’s feasibility will arise.”
