Golden Dome, F-15EX and hypersonic funding allocated under US$1.01tn US defence budget request

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

The request includes US$113 billion in mandatory reconciliation funding to address presidential priorities, such as shipbuilding, missile defence, munitions production and military personnel quality-of-life initiatives.

“This historic defence budget prioritises 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,” said a senior defence official.

“At nearly [US]$160 billion, the FY26 budget request funds DOD readiness to a historic high to meet the planned employment of forces.

“(The refocusing of several projects) identified nearly [US]$30 billion in FY25 efficiencies and reductions.”

Allocations in the proposed budget include an initial investment of US$25 billion for America’s Golden Dome missile defence initiative, US$60 billion towards nuclear enterprise modernisation, US$3.1 billion for continued F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet production, and US$3.5 billion in funding for the Air Force’s planned F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter jet platform.

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Other allocations include US$2.5 million for nuclear shipyard productivity enhancements, US$6.5 billion invested in conventional and non-hypersonic munitions, and US$3.9 billion in hypersonic weapons, US$1.3 billion for industrial base supply chain improvements and US$2.5 billion for missile and munitions production expansion.

Other allocations include US$15.1 billion invested in cyber security to ensure joint, all-domain manoeuvring, as well as US$40 billion towards the Space Force from the US Air Force’s proposed budget.

The budget also includes a 3.8 per cent pay raise and a US$5 billion investment in unaccompanied housing for service members. The budget also requests US$5 billion for border security.

To offset the budget increases, there are notable reductions, such as reducing procurement of the F-35 Lightning II stealth strike fighter from 74 to 47 aircraft, as well as the US Department of Defense’s cancellation of its E-7 Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft program.

The Military Intelligence Program’s top-line budget request for fiscal year 2026 totals US$33.6 billion.

Robert Dougherty

Author

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.

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