US hikes defence budget by 13.4%, proposes $1.01 trillion expenditure for 2026

President Donald J. Trump has proposed a $1.01 trillion national defence budget request for fiscal year 2026. It is a 13.4% increase from fiscal year 2025 and includes $848.3 billion for discretionary budget and $113.3 billion in mandatory funding through congressional reconciliation. The US Department of Defence said, “This historic defence budget prioritises strengthening homeland security and deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.” The budget also prioritises “revitalising the defence industrial base and maintaining our commitment to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” it said.
The 113 billion dollars in mandatory reconciliation funding would address the president’s priorities and include shipbuilding, missile defence, munitions production, and quality-of-life initiatives for the nation’s warfighters, said senior defence department and military leaders during a media briefing at the Pentagon.

The proposed budget breaks down to 197.4 billion dollars for the Army, 292.2 billion dollars for the Navy, 301.1 billion dollars for the Air Force, and 170.9 billion dollars defence-wide.

It also addresses military readiness and training, as well as quality-of-life improvements for service members and their families. The budget also includes a 3.8 per cent pay raise and a five billion dollar investment in unaccompanied housing for service members.

The budget recommendations also included reducing procurement of the F-35 Lightning II stealth strike fighter from 74 to 47 aircraft, and the funding would go toward modernisation of the jet’s capabilities.

Roughly one billion dollars was allocated for investment in spare parts to address the F-35’s sustainment and readiness challenges.

“This historic defence budget prioritizes strengthening homeland security, deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific [region], revitalising the defence industrial base and maintaining our commitment to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” a senior defence official told reporters.

It provides $25 billion toward initial investment in the proposed Golden Dome for America comprehensive missile defence initiative, and $60 billion for nuclear enterprise modernisation, including all three legs of the nation’s nuclear triad.

The request allocates $3.5 billion for the Air Force’s planned F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter jet platform and $15.1 billion in cybersecurity for joint, all-domain manoeuvring and protecting US interests in cyberspace.

It also recommends cancellation of the E-7 Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft programme due to “survivability concerns in a contested environment.”