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The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep161: US Space Force Budget Cuts and the "Golden Dome" Missile Defense — Rick Fisher — Fisher analyzes fluctuating U.S. Space Force budget allocations, highlighting Congressional appropriations for the classified "Golden Dome" missile defense system designed to

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Arts, News, Books

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

US Space Force Budget Cuts and the "Golden Dome" Missile DefenseRick FisherFisher analyzes fluctuating U.S. Space Force budget allocations, highlighting Congressional appropriations for the classified "Golden Dome" missile defense system designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic warheads aimed at the U.S. and allied territories. Fisher criticizes persisting policy prohibitions against American space-based weapons development, arguing these restrictions increasingly represent obsolete Cold War-era constraints preventing necessary technological advancement as China advances anti-satellite capabilities originally developed during the 1990s.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:20.0

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0:24.4

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0:28.0

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0:35.1

This is CBSI on the world.

0:37.4

I'm John Bachelor with Gordon Chang, my colleague and friend,

0:40.7

at Gordon G. Chang. And we're looking at the U.S. Space Force, which begins in 2019, is now part of

0:48.0

the annual procurement for defense needs. The number has been moving around a deal. We welcome Rick Fisher of the

0:55.2

International Assessment and Strategy Center. A significant numbers are 2024. It was 30 billion

1:02.5

for a space force in 2024. In 2025, this is the federal budget estimate by research

1:10.4

at Claude and at Google.

1:13.2

It was declined to 29.4, a decrease, very rare in defense matters for it to go backwards one year to the next,

1:21.0

especially in a time of conflict, which you could see all around the world.

1:25.9

Now we're given numbers suggesting that the administration

1:31.4

request for 2026 was around 26 to 27 billion, even smaller than this year, 25. However, the process

1:42.0

of reconciliation, that means Congress, put back in $13 billion,

1:46.7

and Claude and Google both indicate that $13 billion might be explained by Golden Dome.

1:53.4

Rick, a very good day to you.

1:55.4

$40 billion for the Space Force in 2026 in Golden Dome.

2:00.6

At the same time, we have a story to attend to in the Washington Times by our colleague.

...

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