WASHINGTON, Feb 5: US President George Bush will ask Congress on Monday to boost Pentagon spending to 419.3 billion dollars in 2006, an increase of 4.8 per cent, the US media said on Saturday.

The request will not include money for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Congress already had appropriated 25 billion dollars for the purpose this year, and the White House is planning to request another 80 billion dollars soon.

The budget proposals show that the US defence spending would grow gradually, hitting 502.3 billion dollars by 2011, despite an earlier promise by Mr Bush to cut down the defence budget.

The Pentagon last February estimated it would need 424 billion dollars in 2006 and 445 billion dollars in 2007. The request to be presented on Monday is less than what the Pentagon wants, but 19.2 billion dollars more than the 400.1 billion dollars budget the US Department of Defence received for this year.

The Pentagon's request for procurement money, used for new technology and weapons, is a relatively modest 78 billion dollars for next year. But that number would climb rapidly in future years, to 118.6 billion dollars in 2011.

Overall, Pentagon spending would hit 502.3 billion dollars in 2011, under current forecasts. The reduced rate of growth in 2006 is part of a White House effort to shrink the federal deficit.

The request will be part of a roughly 2.5 trillion dollars federal budget request by Mr Bush. The 2006 budget plan includes funding to restructure the Army and add more combat and support units to the Marine Corps. It would also increase money spent on Special Operations forces.

The US Army is in the process of reshaping its fighting force into brigades, each fully equipped to handle a wide range of threats, rather than traditional and much larger divisions, each specializing in a different fighting task.

Details of the supplemental war-funding measure, expected next week, will reveal additional Bush administration plans for the military.