WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s record peacetime national defence budget request of $813 billion boasts a 4.6% pay raise for troops and the largest research and development budget in history, as Russian aggression in Ukraine spurs demands for more military spending.
Biden’s request earmarks $773 billion for the Pentagon, and eclipses the budget requests by former President Donald Trump. An additional $40 billion is earmarked for defence-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy and other agencies, bringing the national security budget to $813 billion, up from $778 billion last year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven recent support for greater defence spending among Democrats and Republicans who see a growing national security and foreign policy threat from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The budget increases funds for the Pentagon’s European Deterrence Initiative by $360 million to a total of $4.2 billion.
At the same time, the budget slows the Department of Defence’s purchasing of the stealthy F-35 fighter jet, the Pentagon’s largest weapons program, after Air Force leaders complained that technological improvements to the jet’s hardware were too slow.
Budget talks between Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and the White House coalesced around the $773 billion early on, defence officials said. Reuters first reported the figure in February.
Among the top priorities for this budget are shipbuilding, developing capabilities in space, missile warning and modernizing the nuclear “triad” of ballistic missile submarines, bombers and land-based missiles.
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