dailyloe.com – President Donald Trump has proposed a military budget of $1.5 trillion for next year. This would be the United States’ largest defense budget ever when adjusted for inflation. It surpasses spending in any year during World War II. Most Republican lawmakers are reportedly nodding in agreement.
The world is a turbulent place where few propose cutting defense. The proposal represents an increase of almost 50 percent in a single year. The Trump administration has not made a public case for this surge. This is puzzling given Trump’s ‘National Security Strategy’ proposed reducing commitments abroad.
Most of the $1.5 trillion will be spent on weapons. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth touts a 7 percent pay hike for armed forces members. The total proposed cost for military personnel is $205 billion. This is about 13 percent of the total defense budget.
The personnel cost exceeds this year’s amount by only $8 billion. By contrast, the budget for weapons procurement would rise from $223 billion to $413 billion. This is a staggering 85 percent increase. Research and development for new weapons would rise from $210 billion to $344 billion.
That research and development increase is a 64 percent jump. There is almost no precedent for such a surge. The Pentagon has not yet released all budget line items. This makes it hard to break down the figures in detail.
Some growth seems related to advanced satellites and A.I. There is a $24 billion increase for Space Force. There is a $42 billion increase for ‘autonomous’ systems. Steeper increases go for traditional Cold War-era systems.
