
A House-Senate appropriations conference agreement reduces the U.S. Space Force budget request of nearly $19.1 billion to about $18.7 billion--a decrease of $529 million. The conferees decreased the Space Force's $1 billion request for Northrop Grumman's [NOC] Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next Gen OPIR)-Polar to $867 million. The agreement's explanatory statement said that nearly all of the $146 million recommended reduction was because of "Phase 2 concurrency." The satellites are to track ballistic and hypersonic missiles over the Northern…