Lawmakers fret over rumor of White House cuts to NRO commercial imagery budget

NRO director Chris Scolese speaks at the 2023 pace Symposium. (Courtesy Space Symposium)

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers expressed concerns over “rumors” that the White House Office of Management and Budget has ordered the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to cut fiscal year 2026 funding for acquisition of commercial imagery.

“Despite consistent pressure from the subcommittee, the culture shift to maximize the benefit of commercial space continues to meet considerable resistance. I’m especially concerned about the rumor that the National Reconnaissance Office, at the direction of OMB, has slashed commercial imagery funding lines in the FY26 budget,” said Ranking Member Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., during a House Armed Services subcommittee space posture hearing on Wednesday.

Likewise, Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif., pressed NRO Director Chris Scolese on whether “there is any reality” to those rumors.

While NRO’s budget is classified, it is an open secret that its commercial budget hovers at about $400 million a year. Most of that goes for the Electro-Optical Commercial Layer program, under which three firms — Maxar Technologies, Planet and BlackSky — have contracts running through 2032. About $10 million or so of that total goes to the 17 other commercial imagery/data study contracts under the spysat agency’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement (SCE BAA) program.

In addition, the agency up to now has been getting supplemental funding from Congress relating to the ongoing war in Ukraine to gather imagery from firms operating synthetic aperture radar satellites that can “see” through clouds  However, that funding is now in question as the current Trump administration shifts US policy on support for Kyiv.

Scolese, for his part, did not directly confirm or deny any planned cuts.

“We very much value the commercial capabilities, and intend to keep on using those. It’s largely based on demand, of course, but commercial is absolutely critical to what we’re doing,” he said.

“And I would add, it’s not just the commercial imagery. It’s also commercial RF [radio frequency] and also newer phenomenology, as we’re we’re working with that industry to go off and help advance those,” Scolese elaborated. “But even further, it’s helped enable our proliferated architecture. … We’re finding that commercial busses are not only available, but they’re also capable of doing a lot of what our missions require, and they’re available at a much lower cost.”

A spokesperson for the NRO would not directly comment on the budget question.

“The details of the President’s FY2026 budget have not yet been delivered to Congress. Additionally, the specifics of the NRO’s annual budget request are protected,” the spokesperson said.