FY27 Budget Release

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Top Defense Priorities

Golden Dome Missile Defense

Nearly all of the $17.5B for the Golden Dome system funded via reconciliation, with ~$400M in the base request

Shipbuilding Expansion

$65.8B to procure 18 battle force ships and 16 non-battle force vessels, part of a broader push to fund 123 ships and expand beyond traditional prime contractors

F-35 Procurement Surge

85 F-35s requested (38 A, 10 B, 37 C) — up from 47 in FY-26 — with 53 funded via reconciliation as Block 4 upgrades come online

F-47 NGAD

Continued robust funding for the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance platform

Munitions & Industrial Base

Funds all critical munitions framework deals; focused on expanding production capacity and private-sector capital investment

Drones & Emerging Tech

Targeted investments in drones, critical mineral supply chains, AI, and autonomous systems

Military Compensation

Tiered pay raises of 5%–7% with additional investments in barracks, facility sustainment, and medical readiness

Shift to Modernization

$760B total across Procurement and RDT&E — $260B base procurement, $220B base RDT&E, plus $280B via reconciliation

Key Takeaways

Historic Scale: The FY-27 defense budget request totals $1.5 trillion — a 44% increase over current levels, with a stated goal of shifting the force from sustainment to industrial base expansion and new capability delivery.
Modernization Investment: Combined procurement and RDT&E would reach $760 billion, split between a ~$260B base procurement account and an additional ~$280B sought through reconciliation.
Major Program Investments: Shipbuilding ($65.8B for 34 vessels), F-35 (85 aircraft, nearly double FY-26's 47), Golden Dome missile defense (~$17.5B), and munitions industrial base expansion are all prominent features.
Industrial Base Emphasis: The budget explicitly targets production capacity — munitions "framework" deals, shipbuilding beyond traditional primes, and investment in drones, critical minerals, AI, and autonomous systems.
Funding Structure: The request pairs a $1.15T discretionary base with $350B in mandatory spending via a second reconciliation bill.
Pentagon Rollout April 21: Full justification documents and public briefings are expected for April 21, which will provide program-level detail relevant to portfolio planning.

Note: Budget figures sourced from "Budget of the U.S. Government" summary report (Table S-2) released by the White House Office of Management & Budget on April 3, 2026. $1.15T and $1.5T toplines indicate the total Defense Function (050) request. Details on priorities are sourced from the summary report as well as from OMB comments to InsideDefense on April 2, 2026. These are subject to change as more budget materials are released.

Defense Budget Process 101

Below are the stages of the FY27 defense budget request process, updated to show where it currently stands.

President’s Budget Request

Topline budget request submitted by the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to Congress. Sets the administration's proposed spending levels across all federal agencies, including a base discretionary defense request of $1.15T and a total request of $1.5T.

Released April 3, 2026

Budget Exhibits (R-1, P-1, O-1, etc.)

FY27 program element requests released by the DoW Comptroller. These tables provide more detail on the President's budget request at the program element level and show service and color-of-money breakdowns of the topline request. You can dive into these on our Budget Explorer page.

Released April 3, 2026

Justification Books (J-Books)

Full FY27 request justification documents released on a rolling basis by the DoW Comptroller. J-Books provide sub-line-item detail on the entire budget and provide narrative justification for Congressional reviewers.

Rolling release expected April 21, 2026

Service Breakdown — Base Budget

Army: $131.7B

Navy: $235.4B

Air Force: $234.7B

Defense: $177.2B

Marines: $23.8B

Space Force: $57.3B

Service Breakdown — Base + Reconciliation

Army: $168.5B

Navy: $267.9B

Air Force: $250.1B

Defense: $403.3B

Marines: $29.4B

Space Force: $69.4B

Note: Totals by service are sums from the R-1, P-1, and O-1 budget exhibits filtered by service. These are not inclusive of Military Personnel, Military Construction, or other appropriation types. These are subject to change as more budget materials are released.

Color of Money — Base Budget

RDT&E: $219.9B

Procurement: $257.6B

O&M: $382.6B

MILPERS: $206.5B

Revolving & Mgmt Fund: $7.5B

MILCON+: $26.4B

Color of Money — Base + Reconciliation

RDT&E: $341.5B

Procurement: $415.2B

O&M: $431.9B

MILPERS: $206.5B

Revolving & Mgmt Fund: $26.3B

MILCON+: $29.1B

Note: Totals by color of money are sums from the R-1, P-1, O-1, M-1, C-1, and RF-1 budget exhibits. These values are subject to change as more budget materials are released.

Key Takeaways

Massive $54B increase for autonomous systems prototyping: The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) received the largest line in the budget at +$54.4B, appearing to consolidate autonomous systems prototyping aimed at mass drone procurement. 98% of its funding is through reconciliation, signaling a multi-year spending timeline.
Industrial base commitments backed with serious funding: The Pentagon is requesting a combined $78.4B in increases — mostly through reconciliation — for IBAS, the OSC Loan Program, and Defense Production Act purchases, dramatically expanding its ability to invest across critical supply chains, particularly in critical minerals and munitions.
Large set-aside for non-traditionals and CsUAS: The request includes $30.7B for Major Equipment, OSD, funding efforts for small businesses, non-traditionals, and Counter-small UAS — signaling an acceleration of Pentagon efforts to procure innovative technologies from a broader array of firms, including new entrants.

Note: These charts display data for individual Program Elements sourced from the R-1 and P-1 budget exhibits, which do not represent total funding for a given weapon system or program. Classified Programs are removed for clarity. These are subject to change as more budget materials are released.

R-1, P-1, and O-1 budget exhibits sourced from OUSW Comptroller Budget Materials page.

FY27 Budget Release

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