The second Trump Administration’s Department of Defense (DOD) budget request for FY2027 included $1.1 trillion in discretionary funding and $350.0 billion in mandatory funding. (DOD is “using a secondary Department of War designation,” under Executive Order 14347, dated September 5, 2025.) DOD requested $413.1 billion in procurement and $343.7 billion in research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) discretionary and mandatory funding, in part to support weapon systems. In its FY2027 request, DOD included two types of funding: discretionary funding that DOD requested for Congress to authorize and appropriate for FY2027 through regular authorization and appropriations legislation and mandatory funding that DOD proposed Congress provide in authorization legislation using the reconciliation process. For FY2027, to varying degrees, DOD proposed allocating both discretionary and mandatory funding for programs, projects, and activities associated with weapon systems procurement and RDT&E. Relative to amounts enacted for FY2026, the FY2027 DOD request for discretionary funding proposed increases to certain aviation, missile defense, missiles and munitions, and shipbuilding programs. In addition, for FY2027, DOD requested mandatory funds for certain Administration priorities, such as drones, the Golden Dome initiative, and artificial intelligence, as well as for various missile defense programs. At the same time, DOD proposed reducing or ending funding for other programs, such as the Air Force’s E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft and the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Differing views between and within the Administration and Congress over perceived threats, defense strategy and requirements, and program performance have generated and informed debates over funding for weapon systems. DOD officials have stated that the FY2026 supplemental request for U.S. military operations against Iran could include requests for weapons that are included in the department’s FY2027 budget submission. During consideration of a National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY2027 NDAA), the House proposed authorizing $1.7 billion more discretionary funding than DOD requested for selected weapon systems, while the Senate Armed Services Committee proposed authorizing the amount requested; both versions of an FY2027 NDAA departed from the DOD request for certain weapon systems. As of this writing, Congress has not passed an FY2027 NDAA. During consideration of a Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027, the House Appropriations Committee proposed providing $3.2 billion less discretionary funding than DOD requested for selected weapon systems. As of this writing, Congress has not passed a Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027.
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