E-Paper
Trump requests $1.5 trillion for defence budget: Ships, B-21 bomber and more
Around $102 billion have been requested to procure aircraft and spend on their research and development.
United States’ President Donald Trump’s ask for a whopping $1.5 trillion for budget defence for fiscal year 2027 consists a large portion for what Pentagon is calling “presidential priorities”, which consists of Golden Dome missile defense, drone dominance, artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, and the defense industrial base, according to the defence department.
The request for 2027’s defence budget comes after Trump, in 2026, requested Congress for a national defense budget of $892.6 billion before adding $150 billion in supplementary request, leading to the defence budget touching the $1 trillion mark for the first time in US’ history.
Track live updates of US-Iran conflict here
A breakdown of Trump’s defence budget
Over $65 billion in the defence budget is for the Pentagon’s ‘Golden Fleet’ initiative, which includes procuring 18 warships and 16 support ships manufactured by General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries. The request for the shipbuilding budget is the highest since 1962, according to the officials, reported Bloomberg.
The budget request also includes plans to ramp up aerial defence by procuring 85 Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft a year. Around $102 billion have been requested to procure aircraft and spend on their research and development, which is a 26% jump as compared to the last year, according to officials.
The Trump administration is also reportedly looking to prioritise next-generation systems such as the Boeing Co F-47 fighter jet. They have requested $6.1 billion for B-21 bomber manufactured by Northrop Grumman.
The budget request also includes the largest ever investment to enhance drone warfare and counter-drone technology in the US’ history, said senior officials, detailing that a whopping $53.6 billion has been requested for autonomous drone platforms and warzone logistics and another $21 billion request includes munitions, counter-drone technologies, and advance systems, the Bloomberg report said.
Under the current request, the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group is set for a massive jump in its funding from $225 million last year to $54 billion this year. Most of these funds, according to senior officials, will go towards deploying existing technologies rather than long-term basic research
The budget also calls for multi-year procurement contracts for additional munition programs, arguing that longer-term agreements provide stability for both major defense contractors and their small and medium-sized suppliers, enabling them to scale up production.
The budget also includes a request for pay raise for the personnel, depending on the seniority level — with junior enlisted troops getting a 7% hike, mid-level ranks getting a 6% hike and the senior officers getting a 5% hike. It also includes costs for boosting the troops by 44,000 new members in the upcoming year, as compared to over 20,000 last year.
No request for Iran war funding
One of the key highlights of the budget request is the absence of any funding for the ongoing conflict with Iran which is currently under a ceasefire agreement as both the countries look for a sustainable end to the war, which is nearing the two-month mark.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
