The Pentagon has 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-World War Two era, Reuters reports.
In a new wrinkle, the Pentagon has created a category it is calling “presidential priorities,” covering the Golden Dome missile defence system, drone dominance, artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, and the defence industrial base, Pentagon officials tell reporters.
On shipbuilding, the budget includes over $65 billion 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 add.
According to the officials, the budget ramps up procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter to 85 aircraft per year and includes $102bn for aircraft procurement and research and development, a 26 per cent increase over the prior year.
Development of next-generation systems like the Boeing F-47 fighter jet is also a priority, while $6.1b has been requested for Northrop Grumman’s B-21 bomber.
