Overview
- This week’s budget release on Monday seeks $1.5 trillion for defense, a roughly 44% jump built on $1.1 trillion in base funds plus $350 billion in mandatory money, with a separate war supplemental of about $200 billion still unresolved.
- The plan backs major programs, including $65.8 billion to buy 34 Navy ships, the Golden Dome homeland missile shield that uses space-based sensors and interceptors, the F-47 next‑generation fighter, and a Missile Defense Agency boost reported at about $18 billion.
- Munitions rebuilds sit at the core, with the Navy now requesting $3 billion for 785 Tomahawk missiles after heavy use in Iran, while other reports put total Tomahawk replenishment closer to $4.5 billion as the Pentagon seeks multiyear buys to stabilize production.
- Industrial surge tools take center stage, with about $30 billion proposed under the Defense Production Act to add factory capacity and reduce bottlenecks across missiles, interceptors, and other key items.
- Autonomy and AI spending would jump, including a proposed $54.6 billion for a new Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, $74 billion in Air Force R&D with $5 billion for the F-47, and $580 million for a joint counter-drone task force, as Congress begins a contentious debate over the topline and the use of mandatory funding.