Defense Budget Alert

The Air Force's $168.9 billion fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes a $4.1 billion realignment across the future years defense program to fund increases in future air and space dominance capabilities through cuts to legacy bombers and tankers, Block 20 and 30 Global Hawks, Guard and Reserve Component A-10s and planned missile procurements. (UPDATED)

The Defense Department's fiscal year 2021 budget request offers the first comprehensive look at the Space Force budget, which calls for $15.4 billion to fund the new service.

The Army is proposing over the fiscal year 2021 future years defense plan to cancel 41 programs and reduce or delay 39 that do not support the National Defense Strategy to free up $13.5 billion to fund its modernization priorities, according to the service's budget request released today.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is projecting essentially flat annual budgets for the Pentagon over the next five years, well below the 3%-5% growth above inflation Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the military will need every year to reorient itself toward China and Russia.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today the Pentagon, on the heels of several spending increases granted by Congress, must "brace" itself for a stagnant budget, though he wants to get on track to 3%-5% annual growth in the coming years.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein today declined an opportunity to make a case for his service to have a bigger share of the Defense Department budget topline, despite claims in recent weeks from Navy and Army leadership that their respective services require more than the standard one-third allotment.

Navy officials are wrestling with increased pressure to achieve a 355-ship fleet while facing a flattening defense topline.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said this week the Army gets a smaller slice of the spending pie than the other services, contributing to a public discussion by service leaders about who deserves more funding.

Congressional appropriators claim the Air Force is making a habit of transferring large sums of Overseas Contingency Operations flying hour funding to pay for other OCO needs, writing in a report accompanying their compromise fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill that the service has shifted nearly $1.3 billion in the last two years.