US President Donald Trump wants a pay increase for troops and more high-tech missiles and drones in next year's defense budget. This is clear from budget materials cited by "Reuters".
At the same time, the American leader is cutting jobs in the Navy and buying fewer ships and fighter jets to save money.
At $892.6 billion, the defense and national security budget request is unchanged from this year.
The budget, which also includes nuclear weapons-related activities carried out by the Department of Energy and increases funding for homeland security, leaves Trump's mark on the military, pulling funds from weapons and services to fund his priorities.
The White House said the funding would be used to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region and to revitalize the defense industrial base.
Most of the funding for the iconic missile shield Trump's "Golden Dome" was included in a separate budget request and is not part of the latest proposal sent to Congress.
In the 2026 budget, Trump wants fewer F-35 fighter jets, made by Lockheed Martin, and only three warships. The purchase of a Virginia-class ship, made by General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries, and 15 other ships is expected to be included in a separate appropriations bill, the Navy said.
The budget calls for a 3.8 percent pay increase for troops, but it also cuts costs by retiring older weapons, including ships and aircraft that are more expensive to operate. Under the plan, the Navy would reduce its civilian workforce by 7,286.
Compared to Biden's budget from his final year in office, which called for 68 F-35s in fiscal year 2025, Trump is requesting just 47 for fiscal year 2026.
The budget has already sparked debate on Capitol Hill, where the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee is increasing the F-35 purchase to 69 units for fiscal year 2026, one more than Biden requested for 2025.
The Pentagon continues to prioritize the purchase of munitions and key weapons systems.
The Air Force is continuing its investment in the Joint Air-to-Surface Anti-Ship Missile with an extended range and a long-range anti-ship missile, which have a longer range and could be more effective in the Pacific.
On the other hand, the budget targets far fewer precision-strike missiles that would replace the Army Tactical Air-to-Air Missiles (ATACMs) used in Ukraine. Lockheed Martin makes all three types of missiles.
The budget also increases spending on small drones - in part because of lessons learned in Ukraine, where unmanned aerial vehicles have proven to be an integral part of cheap but highly effective warfare.
The detailed request comes as Republicans debate defense spending priorities in their massive $150 billion package contained in the upcoming "One Big Beautiful Bill". The bill has already passed the House of Representatives and will provide an initial $25 billion boost to Trump's controversial "Golden Dome" missile shield project.
Defense spending typically accounts for about half of the U.S. discretionary budget; the rest goes to transportation, education, diplomacy and other departments.