Gen. Saltzman, the chief of Space Force operations, told the subcommittee that space has “never been more critical” and that satellites underpin both economic activity and national security. He said the Space Force must build domain awareness, deploy resilient mission architectures and develop capabilities to hold adversary space assets at risk.

Senators pressed for detail on the president's Golden Dome proposal: Senator Murray asked whether the program could cost as much as $500 billion, and Saltzman said mission analysis and a system‑of‑systems approach will extend timelines but added a “demonstrated capability in the next 3 or 4 years is not unreasonable.”

Members questioned the FY26 request line items tied to the Space Development Agency (SDA). Senator Shaheen noted DOD is halting SDA tranche 3 transport‑layer work that had been developed through open competition and replacing it with a program called Milnet that the department intends to source to a single provider. Senator Murray said the tranche 2 transport layer remains funded in the budget submission but asked how the department will replace tranche 3's planned capability if funding and approach change.

Gen. Saltzman responded that tranche 1 (126 vehicles) is on track and that tranche 2 retains some funding; the department is evaluating alternatives, including commercial proliferated low Earth orbit constellations, to scale a transport network while seeking resiliency and multiple sourcing. Senators repeatedly raised concerns about sole‑sourcing, proprietary systems, and the need for open architectures and competition.

Nut graf: Space Force leaders defended the operational need for Golden Dome and for resilient space architectures but did not provide a definitive cost or schedule; committee members pressed for clearer acquisition plans, competition protections and contingency paths given SDA tranche shifts and questions about Milnet procurement.

Discussion vs. decisions: The hearing recorded departmental plans and exploratory discussions; no acquisition decisions were made on the record. Senators requested classified and unclassified follow‑ups and made clear they expect more detail about architecture, timelines and procurement approaches.

Ending: Committee members asked for additional briefings and documentation on Milnet, SDA tranche planning, and Golden Dome milestones and cost estimate methodologies.