In President Joe Biden’s budget request, the Space Force has proposed increasing its personnel from 6,434 this year to 8,400 next fiscal year. Much of the growth will be in the civilian acquisitions workforce, Defense One noted.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have said the acquisitions bulk-up is necessary to counter threats from China.

“They are not our peer or near peer just yet, but they are rapidly growing, and their objective is by probably the mid-2030s – for sure by midcentury – to be equal to or greater than the United States militarily,” Milley told lawmakers last week. “They are advancing rapidly in space, cyber in maritime, both surface and subsurface, and in air and ground.”

Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Barnett