U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed protection price range for fiscal yr 2026 prioritizes drones and long-range missile methods over conventional air and naval platforms, Reuters reported on June 26.
The $892.6 billion request maintains the general funding degree from 2025 however shifts spending towards innovation and high-tech methods. The price range contains elevated funding in small drones, a response to their confirmed battlefield worth in Ukraine.
The proposal slashes procurement of key legacy methods. Trump's plan contains simply 47 F-35 fighter jets, down from the 68 deliberate by the Biden administration, and solely three warships.
The Pentagon will proceed to buy Joint Air to Floor Standoff Missile – Prolonged Vary and Lengthy Vary Anti-Ship missiles for the U.S. Air Pressure. Fewer Precision Strike Missiles, meant to exchange the ATACMS, are included in the principle request.
The proposal additionally features a 3.8% improve in army salaries, whereas decommissioning growing old and dear plane and ships. The Navy's civilian workforce can be diminished by greater than 7,000 workers to unencumber sources for know-how and modernization.
The shift from conventional fleet growth signifies a transfer in direction of uneven, exact warfare with drones taking part in an important battlefield position.
Ukraine's expertise has knowledgeable a number of parts of the request. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv has expanded drone manufacturing throughout all domains — air, land, and sea — with plans to fabricate 30,000 long-range drones in 2025.
Ukraine's hybrid strike platforms, such because the Palianytsia and Peklo missile-drones, have drawn worldwide consideration for his or her vary and flexibility.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy