The Pentagon yesterday unveiled more details of President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion defence budget request for fiscal year 2027, by far the largest year-over-year increase in defence spending in the post-Second World War era.
In a new wrinkle, the Pentagon has created a category it is calling “presidential priorities,” covering Golden Dome missile defence, drone dominance, artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, and the defence industrial base, Pentagon officials told reporters.
Last year, Trump asked Congress for a national defence budget of $892.6 billion then added $150bn through a supplemental budget request, sending the total price tag over $1trn for the first time in history.
On shipbuilding, the budget includes over $65bn to procure 18 warships and 16 support ships made by General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries as part of what the Pentagon is calling the “Golden Fleet” initiative, the largest shipbuilding request since 1962, the officials said.
The budget ramps up Lockheed Martin F-35 procurement to 85 aircraft per year and includes $102bn for aircraft procurement and research and development, a 26 per cent increase over the prior year, the officials said. Development of next-generation systems like the Boeing Co F-47 fighter jet is also a priority, while $6.1bn is requested for Northrop Grumman’s B-21 bomber.
On drones, senior officials described the request as the largest investment in drone warfare and counter-drone technology in US history. The budget requests $53.6bn for autonomous drone platforms and warzone logistics, along with $21bn for munitions, counter-drone technologies and advanced systems.
The Defence Autonomous Warfare Group, which previously received roughly $225 million, would see its funding balloon to approximately $54bn. Senior officials said the vast bulk of that money is aimed at applying technology that exists today, not long-range basic research, and confirmed the group has effectively absorbed the Pentagon’s earlier Replicator drone initiative.
The budget proposes multi-year procurement contracts for more munitions programmes, arguing longer contracts give both large defence firms and their small and medium-sized suppliers the stability needed to expand production.
The request includes a pay raise weighted towards junior enlisted troops, getting a 7pc increase, 6pc for their superiors and 5pc for the top ranks. The budget also proposes expanding the force by 44,000 additional service members in fiscal 2027, following the addition of more than 20,000 in fiscal 2026.
Notably, the budget does not include funding for the conflict with Iran. A senior Pentagon official said the timing of the appropriations process means a supplemental budget request will likely be needed to address near-term operational costs and replenishment needs arising from the conflict.
The Pentagon’s $1.5trn total is split between a $1.15trn funding request, and a $350bn supplemental budget request – requiring the passage of a reconciliation bill akin to a format used last year.
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