“Some companies want to lease certain space assets that are actually military weapons systems that can be used to destroy other systems and even kill people,” Reed said. “Last year’s NDAA prohibited temporary ownership of space weapons systems, and the analogy is very clear. We do not lease M4 rifles. We do not lease F-15s, etc. This year’s NDA further clarifies that the Space Force must own title to a space weapons system.”
Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) greets Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess before a Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill on July 16, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) greets Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess before a Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill on July 16, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
cane asked Lt. Gen. Doug Schiessthe candidate for next Chief of Space Operations, for his opinions on the matter. If confirmed to the position, Schiess will serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advising the president on military matters.
“There are definitely different mission areas where it makes sense to have commercial leasing, different ways to do it,” Schiess said. “Satellite communications, space domain awareness, things like that. But I also agree that this is a weapons system or a capability that could harm someone else’s equipment, property, or even people, which should be the exclusive property of the Space Force and should be controlled.”
The Space Force is prepared for a massive injection of cash. The Trump administration requested $71.1 billion for the Space Force in fiscal year 2027, a nearly 80 percent increase over the service’s overall 2026 budget of about $40 billion. Lawmakers appear willing to approve a budget of between $50 billion and $60 billion.
Schiess mentioned hybrid models, such as used by the National Reconnaissance Officein which contractors actually operate some government-owned satellites. “But they always have a military member or a civilian from the National Reconnaissance Office who is the mission director.”
“If you confirm me, I’m happy to work with you on that,” Schiess told Reed. “But I agree that we have to have Guardian control over those systems,” he added, referring to the military term for a Space Force service member.
The question is prophetic. The idea of space warfare may have become normalized, but the norms themselves are lagging behind.
