Lloyd Austin on Defence Budget: Outgoing US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has recommended a significant increase in the country’s defence budget, asking for an additional $50 billion over the current projections for the financial year 2026. This recommendation made in a letter sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on November 27, could push the total US defence budget over $1 trillion in the coming years.
According to TOI, Austin’s proposal suggests a budget of $926.5 billion for fiscal year 2026, which is much higher than the current estimate of $876.8 billion. He stressed that to meet the demands of US military strategy, it is essential to have “real growth above inflation,” implying that the US needs consistent and sustained investments in its military between 2026 and 2030.
“I have not wavered in my assessment that meeting the demands of our strategy requires real growth” above inflation “and sustained new investments in fiscal years 2026-2030,” Austin wrote in the letter, according to Bloomberg.
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The letter also proposed further increase in $972.8 billion for 2027, and over $1 trillion for 2028. By 2029 and 2030, the spending could surpass the $1 trillion mark. Austin explained that these figures only apply to the Pentagon’s budget, and they do not include the military aid provided to countries like Israel and Ukraine.
This proposal comes after a slowdown in defence spending in the past few years, due to a two-year budget deal that allowed only a 1% increase in the 2025 budget. This reduction has led to delays in replenishing the US military’s weapons stockpiles, which were used up in the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.
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It remains unclear whether the next US president, Donald Trump, will support Austin’s proposal. Trump had previously suggested that NATO members should raise their defence spending target from the current 2% of GDP to 5%, a drastic increase. This suggestion is significantly different from the proposed Pentagon budget increases, making the future of Austin’s proposal uncertain.
