Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson delivers a speech at CSIS in Oct. 2017. Photo: U.S. Air Force/Wayne A. Clark.

A new congressional requirement may force the U.S. Air Force to disband its new space operations directorate, according to Via Satellite’s sister publication Defense Daily. Last week, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson stated the service is working to find a way to comply with the law while also maintaining the entity it has put together — A11, which has a staff of 43.

The fiscal year 2018 defense authorization act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in December, directs the Air Force to entirely overhaul its space operations. The act also designated Air Force Space Command as the sole authority for training and equipping all Air Force space forces.

Wilson also noted that the Air Force must wait for the 20 percent funding increase it received in the Trump administration’s full year 2018 budget request. The newly allocated funds will remain untapped until Congress passes a full year 2018 defense appropriations bill.

Read the full article in Via Satellite’s sister publication Defense Daily >>