U.S. Army Requests $253 Billion Budget, Including 12.9% Increase in Research and Development

U.S. Army’s budget request totals $253 billion, Defense News reported. 9 percent. S.

1 billion. 7 billion in 2027, according to the Army’s budget highlights. 9 billion will be set aside for a general science and technology fund dedicated to developing next-generation systems and platforms that will support the Army of 2040 and beyond.

The proposed R&D funding would be used to deliver the NGC2 system at scale. The Army budget includes $904 million for Next Generation Command and Control. 6 million last year.

The finished NGC2 system integrates technologies from industry partners including Palantir and Microsoft. 1 billion for the MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotor aircraft.

The aircraft is intended to supplement and eventually replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, which has been in service for more than 50 years. The Army budget includes $474 million for Abrams M1E3 modernization. In 2023, the Army announced plans to move beyond the M1A2 upgrade package and develop the M1E3, with fielding targeted for 2030.

The modernized M1E3 platform is expected to include a hybrid-electric drive, improved armor, advanced munitions and enhanced networking and artificial intelligence capabilities. 1 billion to transition the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system from the Missile Defense Agency to Army control. The Army began developing THAAD in the early 1990s.

THAAD became operational in the mid-2000s. The THAAD transition is intended to simplify integration and oversight, according to the Congressional Research Service. The number of budget lines dedicated to auditing has been reduced from 41 to four.

Rep. Betty McCollum, the ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, noted the reduction during the Army’s congressional budget hearing. She said budget discussions need to be a two-way conversation.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll acknowledged that the service has struggled in the past to manage taxpayer dollars effectively. “We have a history of spending money in a way that didn’t defend taxpayers’ right for their dollars,” he said. Driscoll said the increased budget and flexibility is necessary to keep pace with rapid technological change.

“The purpose, from our perspective, for something like the Next Gen C2 is the speed of innovation requires us to shift dollars between back end systems,” Driscoll said. He suggested that the Army’s Vantage dashboard by Palantir gives visibility into where the dollars are going.